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LIFE  OF  EDWARD  H.  ROLLINS 


Copyright,  1906 
BY  DANA  ESTES  &  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


Colonial  $resg 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co. 
Boston,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 


FOR  nearly  seventy-five  years  after  the  government 
was  founded,  the  principal  gateway  of  political  prefer 
ment  was  through  training  at  the  bar.  When  in  the 
fifties  slavery  agitation  broke  the  solidarity  of  old 
political  parties,  it  brought  to  the  front  new  leaders. 
It  was  not  the  men  of  the  legal  profession,  trained  as 
they  were  to  respect  precedent,  who  were  first  moved, 
as  a  rule,  to  break  away  from  party  ties  and  embark 
in  a  movement  which  promised  neither  political  emolu 
ment  nor  honor.  Therefore,  it  occurred  that  voices 
hitherto  silent  and  men  unaccustomed  to  lead  came  or 
were  forced  to  the  front  to  give  utterance  and  direc 
tion  to  the  crusade  against  slavery.  They  stepped 
from  all  walks  of  life.  They  were  tribunes  of  the 
people.  They  spoke  as  they  were  moved  to  speak  by 
the  intensity  of  their  feelings,  and  they  began  the  or 
ganization  of  their  scattered  forces  into  an  aggressive 
army  which  they  led  through  successive  defeats  to  final 
victory. 

Cooperating  with  Lincoln,  Seward,  Chase,  Sumner, 
and  Hale,  intellectual  giants  trained  for  the  bar,  there 
were,  from  other  callings,  such  men  as  Henry  Wilson, 
Nathaniel  P.  Banks,  Zachariah  Chandler,  Justin  S. 


M168140 


^~1  PREFACE 

Morrill,  Simon  Cameron,  and  Edward  H.  Kollins; 
men  who  in  their  respective  States  did  the  great  work 
of  detail  so  essential  to  the  success  of  any  onward 
movement.  If  they  were  not  leaders  in  enunciating 
principles  and  debating  constitutional  questions,  they 
were  great  lieutenants  in  mobilizing  and  marshalling 
the  people  for  the  contest.  They  directed  the  polit 
ical  campaigns  of  their  States,  and  they  were  advisers 
whose  counsel  was  sought  in  national  contests.  It  was 
such  men  as  these  who  were  drawn  to  the  support  of 
Lincoln  in  preference  to  Seward  at  the  National  Re 
publican  Convention  of  1860,  who  sustained  the  Pres 
ident  during  the  trying  war  period,  who  represented 
the  business  interests  of  the  country,  who  assisted  in 
shaping  national  platforms,  and  whose  help  was  vitally 
essential  in  those  days  of  peril. 

With  the  triumph  of  the  Republican  party,  these 
men  came  to  share  in  political  honors,  and  many  of 
them  sooner  or  later  were  sent  to  represent  the  people 
in  the  national  House  or  Senate.  Their  services  were 
useful  and  patriotic,  and  their  judgment  important 
to  the  cause  they  had  at  heart.  They  were  practical 
men  and  men  of  affairs.  They  helped  to  shape  legis 
lation.  They  kept  in  touch  with  the  public  pulse. 
They  were  active  both  at  Washington  and  at  home. 
They  were  indefatigable  workers.  They  inspired  war 
meetings.  They  looked  after  the  comfort  of  the 
soldiers.  They  reconciled  differences  in  the  party,  and 
they  were  serviceable  in  many  unrecorded  ways. 

As  history  is  now  written,  it  does  not  focus  wholly 


PREFACE  Vll 

on  the  central  stars  of  any  era,  but  is  distributed  over 
all  the  people.  The  initiative  and  execution  of  able 
lieutenants  and  the  thoughts  and  responses  of  those 
in  the  ranks  are  often  essential  to  the  correct  under 
standing  of  the  period  under  consideration. 

To  tell  of  one  having  a  political  career  beginning 
at  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,  identified  for 
a  generation  with  the  victories  of  that  party  in  New 
Hampshire,  for  years  managing  its  political  campaigns, 
possessing  the  confidence  of  Lincoln,  Stanton,  and 
other  great  leaders  of  that  epoch,  rising  by  the  force 
of  his  own  personality  to  the  highest  political  honors 
of  his  State,  successively  Speaker  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  legislature,  member  of  Congress  for  three  terms, 
and  United  States  Senator,  is  to  summarize  the  polit 
ical  history  of  the  State  for  a  most  interesting  period. 

The  life  of  Edward  H.  Rollins  is  written,  therefore, 
along  the  line  of  his  activities.  Consequently,  the  polit 
ical  campaigns  from  1855  to  1883,  of  which  he  was 
a  prominent  factor,  have  been  given  in  brief  outline. 
This  helps  to  a  proper  understanding  of  his  career, 
besides  affording  opportunity  for  collecting  and  pre 
serving  facts  connected  with  the  political  history  of 
New  Hampshire  for  this  period  which,  except  for  a 
work  of  this  kind,  are  not  likely  to  be  gathered  to 
gether.  So  far  as  the  scope  of  this  work  would  permit, 
a  side-light  is  thrown  upon  Rollins' s  contemporaries, 
both  Republicans  and  Democrats.  In  doing  this, 
opinion  has  been  more  freely  expressed  about  those 
whose  life-work,  like  his  own,  is  completed.  If  Rollins 


Till  PREFACE 

appears  as  the  central  figure,  it  is  because  it  is  his 
biography  that  is  being  written,  and  not  the  history 
of  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire.  It  has 
not  been  the  purpose  to  accord  him  a  position  beyond 
his  deserts  or  to  minimize  the  part  of  others  in  the 
politics  of  the  State  during  a  very  eventful  period  of 
our  history. 

Edward  H.  Rollins  was  the  architect  of  his  own 
career.  For  the  most  part  he  was  self -instructed.  The 
best  of  his  years  were  spent  in  the  public  service.  The 
State  of  New  Hampshire  was  his  pride,  and  to  her 
interests  he  devoted  a  large  part  of  his  life. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  be  intimately 
associated  with  Senator  Rollins  during  the  later  years 
of  his  activity  both  in  New  Hampshire  and  at  the  capi 
tal  of  the  nation,  and  through  early  interest  and  par 
ticipation  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  Granite  State 
to  have  met  personally  most  of  his  contemporaries.  This 
intimacy  extended  as  well  to  the  Rollins' 8  family  life. 
It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  impression  formed  of 
him  as  a  public  man  and  a  citizen  during  those  earlier 
years  is  confirmed  by  this  later  review  of  the  period 
in  which  he  lived.  It  is  largely  from  appreciation  of 
his  services  to  the  State  which  gave  him  birth  that  this 
biography  is  undertaken.  There  has  been  no  attempt 
to  eulogize  him,  but  rather  to  present  to  the  reader  the 
story  of  an  eventful  epoch  in  New  Hampshire,  with  the 
conviction  that  the  recital  of  Senator  Rollins's  part 
therein  will  prove  to  be  the  strongest  tribute  that  can 
be  paid  to  him. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE  ...... 

I.  THE  TIMES  AND  THE  LEADER 

II.  ANCESTRY  AND  EARLY  LIFE    . 

III.  ENTRANCE  UPON  A  POLITICAL  CAREER  . 

IV.  POLITICAL  ALLIANCES 

V.  A  CANDIDATE  FOR  CONGRESS 

VI.  ELECTION  TO  CONGRESS  . 

VII.  IN  THE  THIRTY- SEVENTH  CONGRESS 

VIII.  REELECTION  TO  CONGRESS       . 

IX.  IN  THE  THIRTY  -  EIGHTH  CONGRESS 

X.  THIRD  ELECTION  TO  CONGRESS 

XI.  IN  THE  THIRTY  -  NINTH  CONGRESS 

XII.  ROLLINS  RESUMES  THE  CHAIRMANSHIP  . 

XIII.  HOSTILITY  TO  THE  ORGANIZATION 

XIV.  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY'S  DEFEAT 
XV.  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  REORGANIZED 

XVI.  RESIGNS  AS  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  STATE   COM  - 

MITTEE  

XVII.  A  DEMOCRATIC  TRIUMPH 

XVIII.  ROLLINS  AGAIN  AT  THE  HELM 

XIX.  ROLLINS'S  ELECTION  AS  UNITED  STATES  SEN  - 

ATOR 

XX.  ROLLINS  IN  THE  FORTY -FIFTH  CONGRESS 

XXI.  ROLLINS  IN  THE  FORTY -SIXTH  CONGRESS 

XXII.  EVENTS  IN  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  .... 

XXIII.  ROLLINS  IN  THE    FORTY -SEVENTH    CONGRESS 

ix 


PAGE 

V 

11 

22 

38 
65 
88 
108 
121 
144 
158 
176 
187 
205 
221 
242 
255 

284 
303 
321 

352 
375 
397 
412 
432 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV.     ROLLINS'S  LAST  CAMPAIGN      ....  444 

XXV.     ROLLINS'S  DEFEAT  FOR  REELECTION       .         .  457 

XXVI.     ROLLINS'S  LAST  YEARS 476 

XXVII.     ROLLINS'S  FAMILY  LIFE  AND  PERSONAL  TRAITS  488 

XXVIII.     SUMMARY 504 

APPENDIX  : 

DESCENDANTS  OF  EDWARD  H.  ROLLINS      .  517 
OFFICERS  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  AND  DEMO 
CRATIC    STATE    COMMITTEES   FROM    1856 

TO  1905 518 

ADDENDA 533 

INDEX  535 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


EDWARD  H.  ROLLINS Frontispiece 

DANIEL   ROLLINS         ....                  .  28 

THE  WEST -ROLLINS  HOUSE  AT  CONCORD,  N.  H.  .         .      37 

BIRTHPLACE  OF  E.  H.  ROLLINS  .    491 


LIFE  OF  EDWARD  H.  ROLLINS 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    TIMES    AND    THE    LEADER 

FEW  of  the  generation  now  active  in  politics  have 
knowledge  'of  the  important  position  occupied  by  E"ew 
Hampshire  in  the  political  contests  of  the  country  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  succeeding  the  birth  of 
the  Republican  party.  Her  elections  were  annual  until 
1878.  Occurring  the  second  Tuesday  of  March,  they 
were  the  first  in  the  year,  and  therefore  regarded  as 
an  index  of  popular  feeling.  During  all  this  period 
the  State  was  closely  contested  by  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties.  The  result  being  in  doubt  until 
the  votes  were  counted,  the  eyes  of  the  whole  country 
were  fixed  upon  New  Hampshire,  and  almost  every 
election  of  the  State  became  national  in  its  character. 
State  affairs  were  incidentally  discussed  by  local 
speakers  and  by  the  press,  but  the  all-absorbing  issues 
were  made  by  the  national  administration  at  Wash 
ington.  During  the  Civil  War,  when  the  approval  of 

11 


12  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  people  of  the  conduct  of  the  war  meant  so  much  to 
Lincoln  and  Stanton,  those  great  men  watched  with 
intense  interest  the  progress  of  New  Hampshire 
campaigns.  The  national  committees  of  both  parties 
aided  in  the  canvass.  Men  of  national  reputation  on 
hoth  sides,  leaders  prominent  in  other  States,  distin 
guished  members  of  Congress,  took  part  in  the  cam 
paigns,  speaking  upon  the  stump.  The  State  was 
visited  by  correspondents  of  leading  metropolitan  news 
papers,  who  gave  to  their  readers  thrilling  accounts  of 
the  campaigns,  forecasting  the  result.  The  individual 
voter  was  scheduled  in  every  town  by  school  districts, 
and  returns  made  to  the  party  headquarters  at  Con 
cord.  So  accurate  was  the  Republican  canvass  that  its 
State  committee  dared  to  publish  in  advance  its  fig 
ures,  sure  that  they  would  be  verified  by  the  returns. 

The  intensity  and  the  excitement  of  these  campaigns 
have  never  been  exceeded  in  any  State.  The  voter  who 
was  not  willing  to  make  his  vocation  or  business  sub 
sidiary  to  politics  was  regarded  as  unpatriotic.  Men 
gave  freely  of  their  time  and  money  to  carry  elections. 
Absent  voters  were  brought  home,  and  they  were 
numerous.  Young  men  who  went  beyond  the  State 
limits  to  begin  life  did  not  abandon  the  parental  home 
until  they  were  married,  and  trace  of  them  was  kept, 
not  only  by  the  town  committees,  but  in  many  instances 
by  the  State  committee  itself.  Boston,  the  metropolis 
of  New  England,  drew  many  of  the  young  men  from 
New  Hampshire.  The  preponderance  of  Republican 
ism  in  Massachusetts  had  its  influence  upon  not  a  few 


THE    TIMES   AND   THE   LEADER  13 

of  the  young  Democrats  who  drifted  there.  Their 
change  of  views  was  often  known  at  Republican  head 
quarters  at  the  capital,  even  before  the  intelligence 
reached  the  town  where  they  voted.  Then  the  local 
Republican  committee  was  advised  to  send  for  the 
voter,  and  he  appeared  in  town  the  morning  of  elec 
tion,  returning  on  a  Republican  voter's  certificate,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  local  Democrats.  It  has  been  fre 
quently  said  that  the  absent  voters  carried  the  State 
Republican  in  many  a  close  election.  This  is  un 
doubtedly  true,  and  it  was  owing  to  the  superior  or 
ganization  of  the  Republican  party,  with  its  better 
knowledge  of  individual  voters  and  its  systematic 
effort  to  have  every  vote  count.  The  importance  of 
one  vote  was  emphasized  in  almost  every  letter  or 
circular  sent  out  by  the  Republican  State  committee. 
If  the  election  of  Marcus  Morton  as  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  by  one  majority  was  cited  once  by  the 
Republican  leaders  and  newspapers,  it  was  a  thousand 
times,  to  point  to  the  importance  of  individual  action. 
The  campaigns,  until  1878,  occurred  in  midwinter, 
the  conventions  being  held  in  December  or  January. 
Travelling  by  rail  and  in  the  highways  was  frequently 
blocked  by  snow-storms,  mails  were  delayed  and  com 
munication  cut  off  for  several  days  with  some  sections 
of  the  State.  Xo  inclemency  of  the  weather,  however, 
dampened  the  ardor.  Many  towns  in  those  days  had 
to  be  reached  by  long  rides  in  stages,  or  by  private 
teams.  It  was  before  the  time  of  telephones,  and  the 
telegraph  was  but  little  used.  Correspondence  was  con- 


14  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

ducted  without  the  service  of  stenographers  or  type 
writers,  yet  all  the  minutiae  of  town  politics  was  under 
advice  from  State  headquarters.  No  locality  was  so 
unimportant  as  to  be  omitted  from  the  care  of  the  State 
committee. 

Then  there  was  the  stump  speaking.  Every  one  in 
the  State  on  both  sides  who  could  enlighten  an  audience 
was  drafted  into  service,  while  the  best  oratorical  talent 
was  drawn  from  the  country  at  large.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  the  announcements  of  meetings 
for  the  week  filled  several  columns  of  the  newspapers. 
So  great  was  the  interest  that  halls  were  not  large 
enough  to  hold  the  gatherings.  In  one  campaign  in 
the  sixties,  the  late  Senator  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  of 
Indiana,  was  advertised  to  speak  at  Loudon.  The 
largest  hall  was  the  church,  and  not  half  of  the  people 
congregating  could  gain  admittance.  A  window  of  the 
church  was  taken  out,  a  temporary  platform  laid  across 
the  window-sill,  and,  standing  in  the  window,  Senator 
Voorhees  addressed  both  the  crowd  inside  and  outside 
the  church.  Such  experiences  were  not  uncommon. 
In  those  days  the  people  of  New  Hampshire  had  the 
pleasure  of  listening  to  the  great  leaders  on  both  sides. 
In  the  published  lists  of  stump  speakers  in  various 
campaigns  will  be  found  such  names  as  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks,  Henry  Wilson,  Frank  P.  Blair,  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  Zachariah  Chandler,  Montgomery  Blair, 
Anson  S.  Burlingame,  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  Andrew  G. 
Curtin,  James  R.  Doolittle,  Nathaniel  P.  Banks,  John 


THE    TIMES   AND    THE   LEADER  15 

B.  Gordon,  Lucius  Q.  C.  Lamar,  Galusha  A.  Grow, 
John  A.  Andrew,  William  B.  Allison,  Joseph  R.  Haw- 
ley,  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  Horace  Maynard,  Daniel  W. 
Voorhees,  James  G.  Blaine,  Eugene  Hale,  William  P. 
Frye,  Benjamin  E.  Butler,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Richard 
O'Gorman,  James  A.  Garfield,  James  W.  Nye,  Lot  M. 
Morrill,  John  A.  Bingham,  William  W.  Eaton,  Patrick 
A.  Collins,  John  Covode,  George  G.  Gorham,  Frederick 
Douglass,  Julius  C.  Burrows,  Edward  F.  Noyes,  and 
Richard  Oglesby. 

In  addition  to  conducting  such  a  speaking  campaign, 
the  State  committees  prepared  the  ballots  and  sent  them 
to  each  town.  This  was  no  easy  task  when  care  had 
to  be  taken  that  they  did  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  in  season  to  counterfeit  and  distribute  on  elec 
tion  day,  to  the  confusion  of  the  voter.  It  was  no  in 
frequent  occurrence  for  local  leaders  to  call  attention 
to  spurious  ballots  at  the  opening  of  town  meeting, 
ballots  which  had  the  insignia  of  one  party  at  their 
head  and  perhaps  the  names  of  some  of  its  candidates, 
but  with  the  names  of  opposing  candidates  interjected 
here  and  there  on  the  ticket. 

The  Republicans  always  made  their  fight  for  the  con 
trol  of  the  legislature,  or,  more  particularly  speaking, 
for  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  It 
took  a  majority  vote  to  elect  State  Senators,  Council 
lors,  and  governors.  If  there  was  no  choice  by  the 
people  in  Senatorial  or  Councillor  districts  or  of  gov 
ernor,  the  majority  in  the  legislature  filled  the  vacan 
cies  thus  arising.  The  meeting  opened  in  each  town  or 


16  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

ward  with  the  ballot  for  moderator,  and  this  became 
the  test  vote.  The  party  electing  its  moderator  usually 
carried  with  it  the  representative  and  the  town  officers. 
Before  the  towns  of  Gilmanton,  Sanbornton,  and  Gil 
ford,  for  example,  were  divided,  seven  or  eight  hundred 
voters  gathered  in  each  town  to  contest  the  election. 
So  firm  was  the  alignment,  and  so  close  the  issue,  that 
in  these  and  other  towns  of  the  State  the  voters  often 
balloted  all  day  for  the  choice  of  moderator,  frequently 
having  a  tie  vote.  Here  again  the  importance  of  the 
one  vote  was  brought  home.  The  one  vote  in  the  town 
might  elect  the  moderator  and  the  representative,  and 
the  one  representative  might  control  the  legislature. 

The  State  committee,  and  in  such  matters  the  com 
mittee  meant  its  chairman  or  guiding  spirit,  had  to 
reconcile  differences  in  towns  arising  out  of  the  con 
flicting  ambition  of  men  to  go  to  the  legislature.  It 
was  these  personal  appeals  from  headquarters  for  har 
mony,  for  the  burial  of  animosities,  with  promise  to 
interfere  next  time  in  behalf  of  the  disappointed,  that 
contributed  largely  to  saving  the  day  in  an  important 
campaign. 

Well-nigh  perfect  as  was  the  Republican  organiza 
tion  in  those  years,  it  was  almost  equalled  in  effective 
ness  by  the  cohesion  and  discipline  of  the  Democratic 
party,  led  by  Harry  and  George  A.  Bingham,  John  G. 
Sinclair,  John  H.  George,  John  M.  Hill,  John  W. 
Sanborn,  Frank  Jones,  and  other  strong,  energetic,  and 
adroit  men,  some  of  whom,  like  Henry  O.  Kent,  were 
originally  Republicans.  The  Democratic  party  was  a 


THE    TIMES    AND    THE   LEADER  17 

dangerous  antagonist.  Successive  defeats  never  chilled 
its  efforts  or  abated  its  zeal.  Its  leaders  were  alert, 
trappy,  sagacious,  and  ready  to  seize  upon  a  mistake 
and  count  it  to  their  advantage.  They  were  aided  by 
a  vigilant  newspaper  press  which  had  its  readers  in 
every  hamlet.  Every  act  of  the  legislature,  every  ap 
pointment  of  the  governor,  was  closely  analyzed,  and 
the  vote  of  every  member  of  the  legislature  scrutinized, 
especially  if  he  were  a  new  member  and  a  candidate 
for  reelection,  as  was  the  custom.  "  To  die  a  year 
ling,"  as  it  was  called,  —  that  is,  to  fail  of  reelection, 
-was  a  political  disgrace,  and  the  care  of  the  party 
managers  extended  even  to  a  supervision  of  every  mem 
ber  of  the  legislature.  Politics  permeated  everything 
year  in  and  year  out.  The  close  election  whetted  the 
appetite  of  the  minority  and  increased  their  efforts  in 
the  next  campaign. 

It  is  still  a  marvel  how  year  after  year,  with  the  two 
exceptions  of  1871  and  1874,  the  Republican  party 
held  control  of  the  State  by  the  narrowest  of  margins. 
There  wrere  seasons  when  it  seemed  as  if  victory  must 
perch  on  the  Democratic  banner.  There  were  critical 
times  in  the  Civil  War  period  when  successive  Union 
defeats  in  the  field  gave  Democratic  victories  all  over 
the  country  except  in  New  Hampshire.  There  were 
years  of  the  Grant  administrations  when  dishonesty  of 
federal  officials,  mistakes  of  Eepublican  Congresses,  and 
party  quarrels  overturned  doubtful  and  strong  Repub 
lican  States,  but  New  Hampshire  stood  true  through 
it  all  to  the  Republican  cause.  There  were  unfortunate 


18  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

nominations  made  by  New  Hampshire  Republicans 
which  at  the  outset  threatened  the  loss  of  the  State.  At 
such  times  Democratic  activity  would  be  doubled.  Its 
hurrah  was  the  loudest,  its  meetings  the  largest,  the 
vigor  of  its  newspapers  the  most  pronounced.  Yet, 
somehow,  by  the  hardest  kind  of  work  the  Republicans 
would  rally,  stand  closer  together,  become  aggressors, 
turn  the  flank  or  break  the  centre  of  the  enemy,  and 
the  election  would  be  won.  The  voter  who  has  just 
come  of  age  has  no  conception  of  the  political  cam 
paigning  which  occurred  in  New  Hampshire  from 
1856  to  within  a  decade  of  the  present  century.  It  has 
not  its  counterpart  in  any  State  during  the  entire  his 
tory  of  the  country.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  has 
been  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  but  in  that  State  there 
have  been  no  victories  like  those  won  in  New  Hamp 
shire  largely  through  the  superiority  of  party  organiza 
tion  and  the  tactful  skill  of  the  chairman  or  directing 
spirit  of  the  State  committee. 

The  Republican  organization  of  New  Hampshire 
was  created  by  Edward  H.  Rollins,  who  was  the  first 
chairman  of  its  State  committee,  and  during  the  early 
life  of  the  party  the  wTork  of  organizing  it  and  con 
ducting  its  campaigns  was  largely  done  by  him,  aided 
by  Sylvester  Dana  and  William  E.  Chandler  as  secre 
taries.  The  headquarters  for  several  years  was  in  the 
back  room  of  Rollins' s  drug  store  on  Main  Street,  in 
Concord,  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Savings  Bank  Building. 

The  work  of  creating  a  new  political  party  is  at  all 


THE    TIMES   AND    THE    LEADER  19 

times  one  calling  for  the  largest  executive  ability.  The 
creation  must  be  from  the  ground  up.  Even  with  sla 
very  as  a  momentum,  in  the  fifties,  an  immense  amount 
of  laborious  detail  was  necessary  to  bring  the  deserters 
from  the  two  old  parties  together.  The  old  line  Whig 
and  the  Democrat  of  years'  standing,  with  antago 
nisms  of  a  lifetime,  did  not  readily  co'alesce  and  work 
in  harmony.  Recruits  were  welcome,  but  individuals 
frequently  overrated  their  own  importance  to  the  new 
party.  There  were  conflicting  ambitions,  jealousies, 
differences  as  to  methods,  all  of  which  had  to  be  ad 
justed  by  some  directing  force.  Without  such  direc 
tion,  individual  enthusiasm  and  effort  frequently  go 
to  waste.  As  essential  as  the  orator  and  the  writer, 
who  announce,  define,  and  advocate  great  principles, 
is  the  practical  man  of  affairs,  —  he  who  has  knowledge 
of  men,  who  effectively  organizes  them  into  a  working 
body,  who  is  a  good  judge  of  public  opinion,  and  who 
mobilizes  the  supporters  of  an  idea  into  a  successful 
force.  It  was  here  that  the  service  of  Edward  H.  Rol 
lins  to  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire  was 
greatest.  He  builded  an  organization  which  in  service 
outlived  his  own  time.  New  issues  and  new  leaders 
came,  but  the  fruit  of  his  work  continued  in  the  chan 
nels  into  which  he  had  directed  it.  In  the  eighties 
there  came  from  Maine  and  other  States  Republicans 
who  sought  the  secret  of  Republican  organization  in 
New  Hampshire,  an  organization  which  had  so  continu 
ously  under  adverse  circumstances  won  victories  over 
a  most  vigilant  and  aggressive  foe. 


20  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Recalling  these  exciting  political  campaigns  in  New 
Hampshire  and  Rollins' s  part  therein,  Senator  Eugene 
Hale,  of  Maine,  says: 

"  I  think  my  earliest  acquaintance  with  the  late  Sen 
ator  Rollins  was  somewhere  in  the  seventies,  when  New 
Hampshire  held  her  annual  elections  in  March,  and 
when  all  the  available  stump  speakers  were  sent  there 
by  the  National  Committee  to  talk  for  the  Republican 
cause.  I  have  spent  weeks  there  in  these  campaigns, 
driving  out  from  the  railroad  towns  to  the  smaller 
country  centres,  with  the  snow  so  deep  that  the  tops  of 
the  fences  could  not  be  seen.  Mr.  Rollins  managed 
these  campaigns  with  great  ability,  and  his  figures  and 
predictions  on  the  night  before  the  election  sometimes 
came  out  within  one  hundred  votes  of  the  actual  result. 
He  was  an  ardent  Republican,  a  fine  manager  and  or 
ganizer,  and  if  the  last  vote  was  not  got  out  in  New 
Hampshire  it  was  no  fault  of  his." 

The  life  of  Edward  II.  Rollins  was  a  prominent  part 
of  the  political  history  of  New  Hampshire  from  the 
time  of  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,  in  1856,  un 
til  his  retirement  from  the  United  States  Senate,  in 
1883.  There  were  but  few  of  the  important  political 
campaigns  of  that  period  of  which  he  was  not  the  guid 
ing  spirit  of  the  Republican  party.  He  lost  no  political 
battle  when  he  directed  the  Republican  forces,  and 
nearly  all  of  these  contests  were  struggles  for  party 
ascendency  in  a  State  with  forces  very  evenly  matched. 
There  were  times  during  the  Civil  War,  and  in  the  re 
construction  period  which  followed,  when  the  loss  of 


THE    TIMES   AND    THE   LEADER  21 

New  Hampshire  by  the  Eepublicans  would  have  fore 
shadowed  national  disaster  to  that  party. 

As  a  leader  of  men,  it  was  natural  that  Rollins 
should  aspire  to  political  honors.  These  came  to  him 
not  without  a  struggle.  His  success  crossed  the  ambi 
tions  of  other  able  men.  Except  his  first  reelection 
to  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  he  attained 
no  public  position  without  a  contest.  The  State  could 
be  held  by  the  Republican  party  only  by  distributing 
among  the  party  leaders  the  posts  of  honor.  Rotation 
in  office  was  a  constant  cry.  It  was  the  shibboleth  of 
Rollins  and  others  when  they  aspired  to  office.  His 
public  service  was  creditable  to  himself,  and  of  ad 
vantage  to  his  State.  The  story  of  his  life,  therefore, 
must  be  written  as  a  part  of  the  political  campaigns  of 
New  Hampshire  for  almost  a  generation. 


CHAPTEE    II. 

ANCESTRY    AND    EARLY    LIFE  l 

JAMES  RAWLINS,  from  whom  Edward  H.  Rollins 
was  descended,  landed  in  America  in  1632,  and  went 
to  Ipswich,  Massachusetts.  No  less  than  ten  families 
by  the  name  of  Rawlins  came  to  this  country  between 
1630  and  1680.  Some  settled  in  Maryland,  some  in 
Virginia,  and  their  descendants  remained  in  those 
States  or  migrated  to  sections  of  the  South  or  to  the 
West.  Others,  however,  came  North  and  settled  in 
New  England.  The  families  in  the  South  continued 
to  write  the  name  as  it  was  originally  spelled :  Rawlins. 
The  New  England  families,  however,  even  prior  to  the 
Revolutionary  War,  generally  changed  it  to  Rollins. 

The  history  of  James  Rawlins  before  he  came  to  this 
country  is  not  clear.  The  Rawlins  family  in  England 
is  very  ancient.  The  name  has  been  a  fixed  surname 
for  more  than  five  hundred  years.  It  is  an  old  family 
in  Cornwall,  and  more  ancient  in  Hertfordshire.  The 
name  Rawlins  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  Rawle, 
and  Rawle  from  Ralph,  which  was  contracted  from 

1  Prepared  by  the  late  John  F.  Kollins,  youngest  brother  of 
Edward  H.  Kollins. 

22 


ANCESTRY   AND   EARLY    LIFE  23 

Radolph  or  Rudolph,  and  Rudolph  is  the  same  as  the 
French  Raone.  The  name  Raone  is  derived  from,  or 
is  the  same  as,  Rollo,  originating  with  Rollo,  the  Scan 
dinavian,  conqueror  of  the  North  of  France  about  A.  D. 
911,  who  became  Duke  of  Normandy.  The  conclusion 
of  antiquaries  is  that  Rawlins  was  originally  Scandi 
navian,  then  French,  then  English. 

In  tracing  the  family  in  England,  it  is  noticeable 
that  its  members  seemed  to  lean  strongly  toward  the 
Church,  for  no  less  than  twenty-five  of  the  name  were 
prominently  identified  with  various  parishes.  One  was 
Bishop  of  St.  David's;  another,  Prioress  of  Brome- 
hall  Priory ;  and  one  was  an  ardent  follower  of  Luther 
in  the  Reformation.  The  family  also  contributed  to 
the  liberal  arts,  to  the  science  of  letters,  and  numbered 
some  musicians  of  note. 

The  genealogist  of  the  family  says :  "  The  American 
family,  while  contributing  a  fair  proportion  to  marine, 
mercantile,  mechanical,  and  professional  pursuits,  has 
been  mainly  engaged  in  agriculture.  A  large  propor 
tion  of  the  New  England  men  were  above  the  ordinary 
stature,  many  of  them  possessing  unusual  strength,  and 
in  the  earlier  generations  seemed  remarkable  for  lon 
gevity." 

From  Ipswich,  James  Rawlins  soon  moved  to  New- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  but,  in  1644,  he  appears  at  Dover, 
New  Hampshire.  On  July  10th  of  that  year,  he  re 
ceived  a  grant  of  land  from  the  town.  This  land  lies  on 
the  banks  of  the  Piscataqua  about  four  miles  up  the 
river  from  Portsmouth.  The  only  knowledge  to  be 


24  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

gleaned  of  him  is  that  obtained  from  the  town  records, 
and  these  record  only  his  offences  against  the  province 
laws,  or  what  were  deemed  offences  at  that  time.  In 
1634,  he  was  fined  five  shillings  for  paying  one  of  his 
servants  more  than  the  statutory  price  of  labor.  In 
1656,  he  was  fined  two  shillings  six  pence  for  not  going 
to  church,  and  in  1659  he  was  admonished  by  the  gov 
ernor,  by  order  of  the  Court,  for  entertaining  "  Ye 
Quakers."  He  may  be  judged  leniently  for  not  going 
to  church  when  it  is  known  that  he  was  ordered  to  at 
tend  at  Dover,  a  distance  of  several  miles  by  trails  ex 
posed  to  attacks  by  Indians.  His  other  offences  seem 
to  have  been  of  like  character,  which  to-day  would  com 
mend  him  for  his  spirit  of  independence.  To  sum 
him  up,  he  was  probably  one  of  the  hardy  pioneers  of 
the  period,  a  plain,  sturdy  farmer,  possessed  of  good 
common  sense  and  practical  ideas.  He  probably  spent 
his  life  as  quietly  and  contentedly  as  his  savage  foes 
would  permit,  cultivating  his  farm,  and  rearing  a 
family  which  was  subsequently  to  do  its  part  in  carry 
ing  out  the  undertaking  of  founding  a  new  State.  At 
a  ripe  old  age  his  spirit  was  gathered  to  his  fathers, 
and  his  ashes,  the  first  of  his  name  in  the  new  world, 
were  mingled  with  the  virgin  soil  which  he  aided  in 
clearing  from  the  "  forest  primeval." 

He  left  seven  children,  six  boys  and  one  girl.  This 
girl  was  captured,  and  afterward  rescued  from  the  In 
dians  in  1677,  according  to  Belknap's  history.  James 
Rawlins's  wife,  Hannah,  survived  him.  Unfortunately, 
there  is  not  even  a  side-light  to  be  thrown  upon  the 


ANCESTRY   AND   EARLY    LIFE  25 

woman  who  shared  the  experiences  of  pioneer  life  with 
her  husband.  All  record  of  her  maiden  name  and 
character  is  probably  forever  lost.  These  early  set 
tlers  had  little  aptitude,  and  no  leisure,  for  writing 
history,  nor  did  they  realize  that  they  were  making 
history,  and  that  to  their  descendants  a  record  of  their 
lives,  their  trials,  their  joys,  their  failures,  and  their 
successes  would  have  been  priceless.  All  that  can  be 
done  is  to  build  upon  the  fragmentary  foundation  of 
scattered  records  the  superstructure  of  their  lives,  in 
which  the  imagination  must  paint  most  of  the  picture. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  original  Kawlins 
place  still  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  direct  descend 
ants  of  James  Rawlins,  never  having  been  deeded  at 
all.  It  has  come  down  from  father  to  son  or  daughter, 
by  will  or  direct  inheritance,  ever  since  the  death  of 
its  first  owner,  in  1685.  As  early  as  1697  the  house 
now  standing  on  this  place  was  built,  and  it  has  not 
been  materially  changed  since  its  erection.  It  is  of 
the  old  square  colonial  order  with  great  central  chim 
ney  and  yawning  fireplace.  It  stands  on  an  eminence 
from  which  the  land  slopes  gradually  to  the  river.  The 
shade-trees,  probably  planted  by  the  early  members  of 
the  family,  are  now  among  the  grandest  in  New  Eng 
land.  The  king  of  them  all,  however,  known  as  "  the 
Rollins  elm,"  was  blown  down  a  few  years  ago.  This 
tree  measured  at  its  smallest  circumference  twenty- 
one  feet  six  inches,  and  its  spread  was  more  than  one 
hundred  feet. 

Ichabod,  the  eldest  son  of  James  Rawlins,  following 


26  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  English  custom,  came  into  possession  of  the 
farm.  He  married  Mary  Tibbets,  daughter  of  the 
constable  of  Dover,  who  resided  at  Dover  Neck.  She 
lived  only  a  short  time,  leaving  one  son,  Jeremiah. 
Ichabod  married  again,  this  time,  Elizabeth  —  sur 
name  not  known  —  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter 
named  Hannah,  born  July  16,  1706.  Ichabod  was 
killed  by  the  Indians,  soon  after  his  daughter's  birth, 
as  he  was  driving  a  team,  presumably  an  ox  team, 
from  Lieutenant  Field's  garrison  to  James  Bunker's. 
The  scene  of  his  death  lay  between  Dover  and  Dur 
ham. 

Ichabod's  brother  Thomas  lived  near  Exeter,  and 
was  one  of  Edward  Gove's  company  who  were  found  in 
arms  endeavoring  to  incite  an  insurrection  for  the  over 
throw  of  the  arbitrary  government  of  Edward  Cran- 
field.  Thomas,  with  the  others,  was  arrested  and  tried 
for  treason;  but  all  were  pardoned,  except  Gove,  who 
was  imprisoned  for  three  years. 

Ichabod's  son,  Jeremiah,  seems  to  have  left  the 
paternal  acres,  probably  to  his  sister  Hannah,  and  set 
tled  in  what  is  now  Somersworth,  then  a  part  of  Dover. 
He  was  one  of  the  petitioners,  in  1729,  to  incorporate 
Somersworth  as  a  separate  parish.  In  his  will,  dated 
December  7,  1752,  he  bequeathed  to  his  wife,  while  un 
married,  one-half  the  homestead,  a  negro  servant,  and 
lands  in  Kochester;  to  his  son,  Ichabod,  the  homestead, 
land  in  Canterbury,  and  a  part  of  a  sawmill.  The  re 
maining  property  he  left  to  his  other  children.  Jere 
miah's  wife,  born  in  1681,  by  whom  he  had  a  large 


ANCESTRY   AND    EARLY    LIFE  ^/ 

family,  was  Elizabeth  Ham,  granddaughter  of  William 
Ham,  of  Exeter  and  Portsmouth,  who  emigrated  from 
England. 

Jeremiah  left  most  of  his  estate  to  his  eldest  son 
Ichabod,  who  settled  in  that  part  of  Dover  which  was 
afterward  named  Rollinsford  in  his  honor.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  prominence  in  the  community,  the  first 
one  of  the  name  to  take  any  great  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Revolutionary  conventions 
at  Exeter  in  April,  May,  and  December,  1775,  taking 
a  prominent  part.  On  June  20th,  he  was  sent  in  com 
pany  with  Timothy  Walker,  of  Concord,  to  ascertain 
the  losses  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  to  make  the  men  com 
pensation.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  when 
it  resolved  itself  into  an  independent  State  government, 
a  delegate  to  the  legislature  in  1776,  and  the  first  Judge 
of  Probate  under  the  State  government.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  in  1789. 

Judge  Ichabod  Rollins  —  the  name  now  has  the 
Xew  England  spelling  —  was  a  slaveholder.  His  first 
wife  was  Abigail,  daughter  of  Capt.  Benjamin  Went- 
worth.  His  second  wife  was  Margaret  Erost.  He  died 
in  1800.  His  daughter  Elizabeth  married  Jonathan 
Chadbourne,  of  Berwick,  Maine,  and  Chadbourne's 
daughter  Abigail  married  George  W.  Wallingford,  of 
Kennebunk,  only  son  of  Samuel  Wallingford,  who 
served  with  great  distinction  under  John  Paul  Jones, 
and  who  was  killed  on  the  Ranger  in  the  action  with 
the  Drake.  Sarah  Orne  Jewett  has  clothed  the  family 
with  the  mantle  of  romance  in  her  "  Torv  Lover." 


28  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

James,  son  of  Judge  Rollins,  lived  in  Somersworth, 
but  there  seems  to  be  small  record  of  him  except  that 
he  raised  a  family  of  thirteen  children  by  his  two 
wives.  The  first  wife  was  Hannah  Carr,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Moses  Carr,  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  The 
second  wife  was  Lucy  Gerrish,  of  Dover. 

Daniel  Rollins,  the  father  of  Edward  H.  Rollins, 
was  the  son  of  James  Rollins  by  his  second  wife,  Lucy 
Gerrish.  He  was  born  May  30,  1797,  and  resided  on 
his  farm  in  Rollinsford.  He  married,  November  20, 
1823,  Mary  Plumer,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Plumer,  of 
Rollinsford,  a  near  relative  of  Governor  William 
Plumer,  of  New  Hampshire.  They  had  the  following 
children,  Edward  H.,  James  G.,  William  A.,  Lucy  G.? 
John  F.,  and  Elizabeth  W. 

Edward  Henry  Rollins,  eldest  son  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  Plumer  Rollins,  was  born  in  the  homestead  of 
his  grandfather,  James  Rollins,  in  Rollinsford,  Octo 
ber  3,  1824.  When  he  was  three  years  old,  his  father 
removed  from  the  old  house  to  a  new  one  built  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road,  which  Edward  afterward 
owned  and  used  as  a  summer  residence. 

Daniel  Rollins  was  a  farmer.  Until  Edward  was 
seventeen  years  of  age,  his  life  was  spent  upon  his 
father's  farm.  His  boyhood  did  not  differ  from  that  of 
the  average  farmer's  son  of  New  England  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  farms  of  those 
days  produced  most  of  the  household  needs,  and  the 
boys  were  made  serviceable  as  soon  as  their  years  ad 
mitted  of  their  performing  any  work.  They  attended 


DANIEL    ROLLINS 
(FATHER   OF   EDWAHU   H.   ROLLINS) 


ANCESTRY    AND   EARLY    LIFE  29 

school  summer  and  winter  until  they  were  old  enough 
to  help  in  the  hay-field,  when  their  schooling  was  lim 
ited  to  the  winter  term.  As  the  eldest  of  the  family, 
Edward's  services  were  called  into  requisition  by  his 
father  at  an  early  age,  and  he  had  put  upon  him  the 
usual  responsibility  of  an  eldest  son.  This  responsibil 
ity  gave  him  confidence  in  himself,  and  taught  him  that 
self-reliance  which  contributed  so  much  to  his  success 
in  after-life.  He  entered  upon  his  tasks  with  a  cheer 
ful  spirit,  and  acquired  those  habits  of  application  and 
industry  which  are  the  foundation  of  prosperity  in 
manhood.  His  boyhood  days  were  to  him  always  a 
pleasant  recollection,  and  no  place  had  nearer  and 
dearer  associations  than  this  old  farm  at  Rollinsford. 

While  Edward  inherited  from  his  father  many  strong 
qualities,  —  the  Kollins  family  for  generations  being 
a  race  of  earnest,  upright,  and  prominent  citizens,  — 
he  also  owed  a  great  deal  to  his  mother.  Her  family, 
the  Plumers,  were  people  of  note  in  the  State,  furnish 
ing  a  governor,  a  United  States  Senator,  and  other 
prominent  officials  for  the  public  service.  Edward's 
mother,  who  outlived  him  and  died  at  the  ripe  age  of 
ninety-two,  was  a  remarkable  woman,  one  of  the  strong 
characters  of  our  early  Xew  England  life.  She  was  an 
untiring  example  of  industry.  To  the  last  days  of  her 
life  her  mind  was  clear  and  her  faculties  exceptionally 
keen.  Small  of  stature,  she  was  a  woman  of  indom 
itable  courage,  facing  emergencies  with  the  hardihood 
of  a  man.  She  brought  up  a  large  family  of  children 
with  an  eye  single  to  their  moral  and  spiritual  welfare. 


30  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

The  Bible  was  her  guide,  and  her  faith  in  it  never  wav 
ered.  Reading  it  constantly,  knowing  many  of  its 
passages  by  heart,  she  actually  lived  up  to  both  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  her  religious  convictions. 

For  his  mother,  Edward  had  the  greatest  love  and 
reverence.  To  the  close  of  his  life,  her  slightest  wish 
was  to  him  a  command,  and  he  carefully  avoided  in 
her  presence  everything  which  would  offend  her  views 
of  right  and  wrong.  She  was  the  only  person  whom 
he  seemed  to  fear.  In  later  life,  when  her  home  was 
with  him  on  the  farm  at  Rollinsford,  it  was  almost 
ludicrous  to  see  the  expedients  to  which  he  resorted 
to  escape  her  reprimands.  She  had  strong  prejudices 
against  any  form  of  work  on  the  Sabbath.  It  some 
times  happened  that  a  large  amount  of  hay  would  be 
left  in  the  field  on  Saturday  night.  Like  all  good  farm 
ers,  Mr.  Rollins  disliked  to  have  his  hay  wet  by  a 
shower.  Therefore,  when  the  clouds  threatened  rain 
on  Sunday,  his  manceuvrings  to  get  a  yoke  of  oxen  and 
a  hay-rack  out  of  the  barn  without  his  mother  knowing 
it  reminded  one  of  a  boy  in  his  teens  rather  than  the 
head  of  a  family.  If  perchance  she  discovered  him, 
she  firmly  forbade  the  work,  and  it  is  needless  to  say 
that  her  orders  were  obeyed. 

During  Mr.  Rollins's  last  illness,  when  a  shock  of 
apoplexy  had  temporarily  clouded  his  mind,  he  imag 
ined  that  he  was  away  from  home,  and  no  assurance 
could  persuade  him  that  he  was  at  Rollinsford.  Finally 
he  was  asked  if  his  mother  should  come  to  his  bedside 
and  assure  him  that  he  was  at  home,  would  he  believe 


ANCESTRY   AND   EARLY   LIFE  31 

it.  "  Yes/7  he  replied  most  emphatically,  "  mother 
never  told  a  lie." 

Many  incidents  are  related  of  the  resolute  character 
of  Edward's  mother.  One  or  two  will  illustrate  her 
forcefulness.  When  the  farm  buildings  at  Kollinsford 
were  burned,  she  was  recovering  from  a  broken  hip. 
The  fire  occurred  on  a  cold  winter  night.  Although 
nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  she  made  her  way  out  of 
the  house  without  assistance,  and  immediately  started 
to  help  in  putting  out  the  fire.  The  neighbors  formed 
a  line  from  the  pump  to  the  house  to  pass  buckets  of 
water  to  throw  upon  the  flames.  She  insisted  upon 
pumping  the  water  until  forcibly  removed.  The  next 
day  she  was  up  at  the  usual  hour  apparently  unaffected 
by  the  excitement  and  her  exertions. 

Her  determination  is  illustrated  by  an  experience 
upon  the  farm  with  her  grandson,  Frank  W.  Rollins, 
when  a  boy  of  nine  years  of  age.  In  the  stable  was  a 
balky  and  tricky  horse  named  Beauty,  whose  charac 
teristics  were  thoroughly  known  to  the  grandmother. 
Frank,  in  the  absence  of  the  men  in  the  hay-field,  was 
sent  to  harness  the  animal.  The  moment  he  came  near 
the  stall,  Beauty  began  to  kick  vigorously.  After  try 
ing  in  vain  to  get  near  her,  Frank  returned  to  the  house 
and  reported  the  situation  to  his  grandmother.  Going 
to  the  stable,  the  old  lady  took  the  horsewhip  and  ad 
ministered  a  vigorous  and  evidently  wholesome  punish 
ment  to  the  high-strung  beast.  Then  standing  by,  whip 
in  hand,  she  directed  Frank  to  go  into  the  stall  and  lead 
out  the  animal.  Beauty  backed  out  with  circumspec- 


32  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tion,  her  ears  laid  over,  but  with  an  eye  on  Mrs.  Rol 
lins,  fully  recognizing  that  a  master  hand  was  in  con 
trol. 

Such  was  the  mother  of  Edward  H.  Rollins,  an  ear 
nest,  strong,  and  commanding  woman,  faithful  to  her 
convictions  and  resolute  in  her  purpose.  If  her  train 
ing  of  her  children  partook  somewhat  of  the  old  Puri 
tan  sternness,  it  nevertheless  inspired  affection  and 
made  a  lasting  impression  upon  her  sons  and  daugh 
ters. 

Edward's  education  was  begun  at  the  red  school- 
house  near  his  father's  residence.  He  was  a  studious 
boy,  quick  of  apprehension,  and  stood  well  in  his 
classes.  Such  leisure  hours  as  were  afforded  he  devoted 
to  poring  over  the  few  books  that  were  the  possessions 
of  the  family.  These  he  read  again  and  again,  com 
mitting  to  memory  some  of  their  pages.  Mastering 
the  branches  taught  in  the  district  school,  he  began 
preparations  for  a  collegiate  course.  He  attended 
Franklin  Academy  at  Dover  and  the  academy  at  Ber 
wick,  Maine,  for  a  few  terms,  making  commendable 
progress.  One  of  his  teachers  was  John  G.  Pike,  under 
whose  instruction  he  studied  Latin  and  Greek.  This 
instructor  entertained  a  very  high  opinion  of  Edward's 
scholarship,  as  well  as  of  his  original  talent. 

George  A.  Gordon,  at  one  time  recording  secretary 
of  the  New  England  Historical  Genealogical  Society, 
was  a  fellow  pupil  with  Edward  at  the  Franklin  Acad 
emy.  The  majority  of  the  boys  who  attended  this 
academy  were  farmers'  sons  from  the  neighboring 


ANCESTRY   AND   EARLY   LIFE  33 

towns.  Most  of  them  went  for  only  a  term  or  two, 
the  exception  being  those  who  entered  the  course  with 
a  view  to  fitting  for  college.  Gordon  says  that  "  Ed 
ward  was  a  quiet  and  studious  boy  in  the  school,  ac 
curate  in  recitation,  and  never  in  trouble  on  account 
of  his  deportment.  A  leader  in  sports  and  games,  his 
enthusiasm  was  contagious.  He  excelled  as  a  runner, 
leaper,  and  wrestler.  Naturally  taking  command,  he 
decided  contested  points  among  the  boys,  pacified  their 
contentions,  and  marshalled  their  forces  with  a  skill 
never  questioned  and  ever  satisfactory.  He  was  a  lad 
of  handsome  presence,  robust  and  sturdy,  though  not 
large,  writh  a  luxuriance  of  spirit,  fervor,  and  anima 
tion  which  gave  him  the  power  of  producing  positive 
results." 

One  of  his  associates  at  Berwick  Academy  was  James 
Wingate  Rollins.  This  institution  was  four  miles  from 
Edward's  home,  and  he  walked  to  and  from  it  daily 
while  a  student  there.  Wingate  Rollins  says  of  him 
that  he  "  took  high  rank  among  his  school  fellows  for 
ability  and  thoroughness  in  his  studies.  He  was  espe 
cially  good  in  mathematics,  in  which  he  was  surpassed 
by  few  if  any.  He  was  very  popular.  Frank,  out 
spoken,  and  full  of  pluck,  he  was  liked  by  all  and  soon 
became  a  leader  of  the  school."  . 

Edward's  first  disappointment  in  life  came  when  it 
was  apparent  that  his  father's  lack  of  means  would 
prevent  his  completing  an  academic  course  and  entering 
Dartmouth  College.  He,  however,  accepted  the  situ 
ation  in  a  brave  and  cheerful  spirit.  He  entered  upon 


34  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  activities  of  life  with  a  firm  determination  to  edu 
cate  himself,  as  many  others  of  preceding  generations 
had  done  when  the  family  resources  failed  to  provide 
a  college  education.  His  studious  habits  did  not  cease 
upon  leaving  school.  He  was  an  omnivorous  reader, 
and  his  reading  took  a  wide  range.  He  advanced  in 
the  higher  mathematics  without  instructors,  and  it  was 
his  delight  in  later  life  to  supervise  the  study  of  his 
children  in  this  branch  of  learning.  He  read  trans 
lations  of  the  classics  and  all  the  standard  authors, 
Shakespeare  being  his  favorite.  He  bought  books  as 
his  means  allowed,  and  his  library  in  its  selection 
showed  a  scholarly  taste.  If  the  deprivation  of  a  col 
lege  training  was  to  him  a  deep  regret,  he  nevertheless 
became  by  self-education  a  well-read  and  cultured  man. 
When  Edward  left  the  academy,  he  went  to  Concord 
to  begin  life  in  the  drug  store  of  John  McDaniel. 
Here  he  remained  for  three  years,  going  home  only  for 
an  occasional  visit.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  thinking 
he  could  better  himself,  he  left  the  employment  of 
McDaniel  and  returned  to  Rollinsford.  While  waiting 
for  employment,  he  assisted  in  the  work  upon  the  farm 
and  taught  school  in  the  red  schoolhouse  where  he  had 
been  a  pupil.  He  was  a  successful  teacher,  excelling 
in  mathematics.  Not  only  the  scholars  but  their  pa 
rents  took  delight  in  sending  him  difficult  problems 
to  solve.  Mathematics  was  the  test  in  those  days  of 
a  teacher's  proficiency.  Subsequently  he  taught  school 
in  South  Berwick.  Thomas  J.  Goodwin  of  that  town 
writes  of  this  school: 


ANCESTRY    AND   EARLY    LIFE  35 

"  I  was  one  of  Mr.  Rollins's  scholars  in  District 
Xumber  2,  in  the  winter  of  1845-6.  I  was  about  thir 
teen  years  of  age  and  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of 
the  school  that  he  kept.  He  boarded  with  William  H. 
Peters,  who  resided  opposite  my  .home.  Mr.  Rollins's 
salary  was  four  dollars  and  a  half  per  week  and  board. 
He  kept  a  model  school.  I  have  recently  spoken  to 
others  who  attended  that  school  with  me,  although  the 
majority  of  the  boys  and  girls  have  passed  away,  and 
they  as  well  as  I  have  most  pleasant  recollections  of 
this  term.  It  seemed  all  too  short." 

In  1846,  Rollins  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  whole 
sale  drug  store  of  Seth  W.  Fowle  &  Co.,  on  Washington 
Street,  Boston,  where  he  remained  nearly  two  years, 
at  a  salary  of  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  His  most  intimate  friends  were  his 
fellow  clerks,  among  whom  were  Mr.  Weeks,  the 
founder  of  the  Weeks  &  Potter  Co.,  druggists,  and 
Samuel  Blake.  The  clerks  boarded  with  Mr.  Weeks's 
father  on  Fort  Hill.  Mr.  Weeks  says  that  Rollins  was 
even  then  as  ardent  a  politician  as  he  became  in  later 
life,  and  that  he  and  Blake,  being  on  opposite  sides, 
were  debating  politics  whenever  they  had  an  oppor 
tunity,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  their  friends.  After 
leaving  Mr.  IVvvle's  store,  Rollins  was  for  a  brief  time 
employed  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  He  then  returned 
home  and  arranged  for  the  purchase  of  a  drug  store  in 
Dover,  with  his  cousin,  Charles  Rollins,  as  a  partner. 
The  fathers  of  these  young  men  were  to  advance  the 
money,  but,  when  they  came  to  close  the  trade,  the  pro- 


36  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

prietor  repudiated  the  bargain.  Late  in  the  fall  of 
1847,  Mr.  Rollins  went  to  Concord  and  bought  the  drug 
business  of  R.  C.  Osgood,  whose  store  was  on  the  east 
side  of  Main  Street  nearly  opposite  the  State  House. 
R.  C.  Osgood  was  the  successor  of  the  drug  firm  of  Os- 
good  &  Rand.  The  newspaper  advertisements  of  the 
time  show  that  Rollins  took  possession  of  this  store  De 
cember  3,  1847.  The  purchase  price  was  one  thousand 
dollars,  which  Rollins  obtained  on  a  note  endorsed  by 
his  father  and  William  W.  Rollins.  Within  a  year 
he  paid  the  note.  In  Rollins's  advertisement  in  the 
local  newspapers  of  1848  it  appears  that  he  kept  "  a 
choice  assortment  of  family  groceries."  Later,  he 
started  his  brother,  John  F.  Rollins,  in  the  drug  busi 
ness  at  Penacook,  a  suburb  of  Concord.  In  October, 
1859,  the  business  of  the  two  brothers  was  united  under 
the  firm  name  of  Rollins  &  Company,  and  so  it  con 
tinued  until  Feb.  4,  1861,  when  Edward  retired  from 
the  firm. 

In  1851,  Rollins's  store  was  destroyed  by  fire.  He 
continued  the  business  in  a  store  on  Main  Street,  a 
little  north  of  his  own,  until  he  completed  Rollins's 
Block  on  the  site  of  the  Osgood  &  Rand  store.  In  this 
block  Rollins  carried  on  the  drug  business  until  he  dis 
posed  of  his  interest  therein.  It  was  in  the  back  room 
of  this  store  that  many  political  conferences  were  held. 
In  this  room  all  the  earlier  State  canvasses  were  made 
by  Rollins  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Com 
mittee. 

When  Mr.  Rollins  came  to  Concord,  he  went  to  board 


ANCESTRY    AND    EARLY    LIFE  37 

with  Mrs.  Nancy  M.  West,  the  widow  of  John  West, 
who  resided  in  what  was  known  for  many  years  as  the 
West-Rollins  homestead  situated  on  the  west  side  of 
Main  Street  opposite  the  New  Hampshire  Historical 
Society  Building.  Here  he  became  acquainted  with 
Ellen  Elizabeth  West,  daughter  of  Mrs.  West,  whom 
he  married  February  13,  1849.  This  house  continued 
to  be  his  home  during  his  long  and  eventful  life,  and 
in  it  all  his  children  were  born.  These  children  were 
Edward  Warren,  born  November  25,  1850;  Helen 
Mary,  born  September  4,  1853 ;  Charles  Montgomery,1 
born  February  27,  1856;  Frank  West,  born  February 
24,  1860;  and  Montgomery,  born  August  25,  1867. 
All  are  now  living  except  Charles,  who  died  when  about 
five  years  of  age. 

!Died  June  25,  1861 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREEK 

WHEN  Edward  II.  Rollins  settled  in  Concord,  the 
various  stores  of  the  town  were  places  of  evening  resort, 
where  men  gathered  to  discuss  local  affairs  and  politics. 
It  was  not  long  before  his  drug  store  became  a  rendez 
vous  for  local  politicians,  and  later,  as  he  became  more 
prominent,  for  State  politicians  visiting  the  capital. 
Rollins  was  originally  a  Webster  Whig,  and  he  was 
very  soon  actively  identified  with  the  Whig  party  in 
New1  Hampshire.  In  1850,  he  was  a  member  of  its 
State  committee,  and  had  as  his  associate,  from  Con 
cord,  Lyman  D.  Stevens,  who  later  became  mayor  of  the 
city,  member  of  the  legislature,  State  Senator  and 
Councillor.  In  1851,  Rollins,  with  other  members  of 
the  State  committee,  signed  the  call  for  the  State  con 
vention  of  that  party.  This  convention  nominated  a 
candidate  for  governor  and  delegates  to  the  national 
convention  to  be  held  the  next  year.  The  nomination 
of  Winfield  Scott  for  President  by  that  convention  dis 
appointed  many  New  Hampshire  Whigs  who  favored 
the  nomination  of  Daniel  Webster.  It  is  very  probable 
that  Rollins  was  among  this  number.  Although  he  was 
a  delegate  to  a  Whig  State  convention  held  in  Septem- 


ENTRANCE    UPON   A    POLITICAL    CAREER 


39 


ber,  1852,  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  governor  for 
the  campaign  of  1853,  he  ceased  to  be  a  member  of  the 
State  committee. 

As  a  national  party,  the  Whig  party  expired  with  the 
Presidential  campaign  of  1852.  As  an  organization, 
it  continued  to  exist  in  New  Hampshire  for  four  years 
longer,  but  its  strength  dwindled  from  17,590  votes  in 
March,  1853,  to  2,360  votes  in  March,  1856.  In  the 
State  elections  of  1853  and  1854,  carried  by  the  Demo 
crats  on  the  popular  vote,  the  opposition  was  divided 
between  Whigs  and  Free-soilers. 

Before  the  election  of  1855,  by  secret  organization, 
the  American  or  Know  Nothing  movement  was  sud 
denly  developed,  upsetting  the  calculations  of  the 
leaders  of  the  old  parties.  Opposition  to  slavery  ex 
tension  was  the  impetus  which  led  many  in  New  Hamp 
shire  to  join  this  new  American  party  or,  remaining 
outside  its  secret  councils,  to  support  its  ticket  at  the 
polls.  The  cause  which  led  to  the  organization  of  the 
Know  Nothing  party  in  other  States,  opposition  to  the 
participation  and  influence  of  naturalized  citizens  in 
our  politics,  played  but  a  small  part  in  the  formation 
of  the  Know  Nothing  councils  of  New  Hampshire  or 
in  the  legislative  work  of  that  party  after  it  came  into 
control  of  the  State  government.  From  the  first,  the 
views  of  its  members  in  New  Hampshire  on  the  slavery 
question  were  pronounced,  and  the  Know  Nothing  or 
ganization  was  used  by  the  opponents  of  slavery  ex 
tension  as  a  means  of  defeating  the  Democratic  party. 
The  new  movement  was  the  stepping-stone  to  the  forma- 


40  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tion  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  State,  hut  the 
merging  of  its  forces  into  the  Republican  organization 
between  the  spring  and  fall  campaigns  of  1856  was  so 
quietly  brought  about  that  it  is  difficult  to  fix  the  pre 
cise  moment  of  transition. 

Rollins  was  an  intense  opponent  of  slavery,  and  to 
one  of  his  capacity  for  organization  the  Know  Nothing 
councils  appealed  with  especial  force  as  an  effective 
means  of  opposing  slavery  extension  and  defeating  the 
dominant  party  in  the  State.  Men  were  rapidly  join 
ing  the  Know  Nothing  lodges,  and  it  was  at  once  ap 
parent  that  the  movement  would  have  an  important 
bearing  upon  the  politics  of  the  State.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  leaders  of  both  of  the  old  parties  hoped 
to  control  and  use  the  order.  Indeed,  not  a  few  con 
spicuous  Democrats  became  members  of  Know  Nothing 
lodges,  who  withdrew  when  they  found  that  Democratic 
ascendency  in  the  State  was  threatened  by  it.  The 
greater  number,  however,  drifted  from  it  into  the 
Republican  party  for  the  same  purpose  that  they 
originally  joined  it,  —  to  circumscribe  or  overthrow 
slavery. 

The  acceptance  of  the  city  charter  by  the  voters  of 
Concord  occurred  at  the  spring  election  of  1853.  The 
city  was  divided  into  seven  wards.  Rollins's  residence 
was  in  Ward  4,  a  ward  famous  for  its  political  con 
tests  and  the  number  of  its  residents  who  have  attained 
important  State  and  national  positions.  Probably  no 
town  or  ward  of  the  State  has  been  the  home  of  so 
many  men  who  have  been  prominent  in  public  life. 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        41 

At  one  time,  about  1888-9,  a  good  share  of  the  State 
government  resided  in  this  ward.  The  following  is 
a  list  of  its  residents  who  have  held  national  and  State 
offices  at  the  time  of  their  residence  there: 

U.  S.  Senators,  Franklin  Pierce,  George  G.  Fogg, 
Edward  H.  Rollins,  and  Jacob  H.  Gallinger. 

U.  S.  Representatives,  Edward  H.  Rollins  and  Jacob 
H.  Gallinger. 

Minister  to  Switzerland,  George  G.  Fogg. 

U.  S.  District  Attorney,  John  H.  George. 

U.   S.  Marshal,  Joab  N.   Patterson. 

Naval  Officer  of  Customs,  Boston,  James  O.  Lyford. 

Second  Auditor  of  the  Treasury,  Joab  N.  Patterson. 

U.  S.  Pension  Agents,  George  Minot  and  John 
George. 

Governors,  Onslow  Stearns  and  Frank  W.  Rollins. 

Secretaries  of  State,  Philip  Oarrigan  and  Ai  B. 
Thompson. 

President  of  Constitutional  Convention  of  1902, 
Frank  S.  Streeter. 

Railroad  Commissioners,  Granville  P.  Conn  and 
John  M.  Mitchell. 

Insurance  Commissioner,   Oliver  Pillsbury. 

Bank  Commissioner,  James  O.  Lyford. 

Forestry  Commissioner,  George  H.  Moses. 

Adjutant  General,  Augustus  D.  Ayling. 

State  Historians,  Nathaniel  Bouton  and  Isaac  W. 
Hammond. 

Presidents  of  the  Senate,  Onslow  Stearns,  Jacob  H. 
Gallinger,  and  Frank  W.  Rollins. 


42  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Speakers  of  the  House,  Edward  H.  Kollins  and 
Samuel  C.  Eastman. 

Supreme  Court  Judges,  Ira  Perley,  Asa  Fowler, 
William  L.  Foster,  and  Alonzo  P.  Carpenter. 

For  fifty  years  Ward  4  has  been  a  battle-ground,  no 
election  ever  going  by  default.  It  was  won  from  the 
Democratic  party  by  the  Whig-Free-soil  coalition  in 
1854,  held  by  an  alliance  that  centred  around  the 
American  party  in  1855  and  '56,  and  carried  by  the 
Republican  party  ever  after,  but  never  in  all  the  years 
without  a  contest.  The  Democratic  leaders  of  the 
ward  have  always  been  aggressive,  and  they  have  mar 
shalled  the  minority  with  a  skill  which  has  often  taxed 
the  energies  of  the  Republicans  to  overcome.  It  was 
in  this  political  centre  that  Rollins  began  his  political 
career.  The  Republican  canvasses  of  the  ward  in  the 
early  years  were  made  by  Charles  H.  Herbert  under 
Rollins' s  personal  supervision.  Herbert,  who  is  still 
living,  thus  speaks  of  these  local  campaigns: 

"  Xo  town  or  ward  of  the  State  has  witnessed  more 
intense  political  contests  than  Ward  4.  The  Demo 
crats  under  the  leadership  of  John  H.  George  fought 
to  the  finish,  or  until  the  last  vote  was  counted  and  de 
clared.  Xo  Republican  victory  ever  had  any  effect 
upon  the  next  contest.  2s"o  matter  how  badly  the  Dem 
ocrats  were  beaten,  they  came  up  just  as  confident  the 
next  time.  The  Republicans,  however,  left  nothing  to 
chance.  We  knew  how  every  voter  stood  and  what  in 
fluence  surrounded  him.  I  used  to  make  the  canvasses 
of  the  ward,  and  then  we  would  meet  at  Rollins's  house 


ENTRANCE    UPON   A   POLITICAL    CAREER        43 

to  go  over  them.  Politics  lasted  the  year  round.  In 
those  early  years  we  were  at  Rollins's  house  discussing 
the  political  situation  almost  as  much  as  we  were  at 
home.  His  home  was  political  headquarters  not  only 
for  the  ward  but  for  the  entire  city.  The  Republican 
party  of  New  Hampshire  was  cradled  in  that  old 
house  and  in  the  back  room  of  his  drug  store.  He 
looked  after  every  detail.  Nothing  in  politics,  with 
him,  was  too  small  to  be  unimportant.  If  he  started 
in  to  accomplish  anything,  he  never  let  up  until  he 
brought  it  about.  He  never  forgot  a  political  promise, 
and  he  never  failed  to  keep  one. 

"  In  1855,  Edward  H.  Rollins  and  William  Ballard 
were  the  candidates  for  representatives  to  the  legisla 
ture.  We  had  the  advantage  of  the  Democrats  in  that 
they  did  not  know  who  of  their  men  had  joined  the 
Know  Nothing  councils,  as  the  members  were  pledged 
not  to  divulge  their  membership.  Therefore,  our  can 
vass  was  more  accurate,  but  the  Democrats  were  deter 
mined  and  confident.  For  several  weeks  before  elec 
tion  we  met  almost  every  night  at  Rollins' s  house  to 
listen  to  reports  on  the  situation.  Every  absent  voter 
who  would  support  our  ticket  was  brought  home  re 
gardless  of  expense,  and  we  had  committees  to  see  that 
every  voter  was  brought  to  the  polls.  Our  organization 
was  well-nigh  perfect,  and  every  man  under  Rollins's 
direction  knew  what  his  duties  would  be  on  election 
day.  When  we  made  up  our  final  canvass  the  night 
before  election,  Rollins  said,  with  a  confidence  that 
.gave  us  courage,  e  We  shall  carry  the  ward  to-morrow.2 


44  LIFE    OF   EDAVARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Carry  it  we  did,  to  the  surprise  and  chagrin  of  the 
Democrats.  The  same  painstaking  methods  established 
by  Rollins  for  taking  the  poll  of  the  ward  continued 
all  the  years  that  I  was  active  in  politics." 

The  State  ticket  of  the  Know  Xothing  party  in  this 
campaign  of  1855,  and  its  candidates  for  Congress, 
were  nominated  at  a  mass  convention  held  at  Man 
chester.  Their  candidates  were,  for  governor,  Ralph 
Metcalf,  a  former  Democrat;  for  Congress,  James 
Pike,  of  South  Newmarket,  Mason  W.  Tappan,  of 
Bradford,  and  Aaron  H.  Cragin,  of  Lebanon. 

On  the  committee  to  notify  Metcalf  of  his  nomina 
tion  was  Ruel  Durkee,  of  Croydon,  who  had  secured 
Metcalf 's  assent  to  becoming  the  candidate  of  the  party, 
and  who  was  afterward  prominently  identified  with  the 
Republican  party  from  its  birth  until  his  death.  Dur 
kee  was  a  quaint  and  original  character  whose  large 
and  ungainly  figure  attracted  attention  at  all  political 
gatherings  on  account  of  his  dress  and  general  appear 
ance.  He  wore  a  swallow-tail  coat  and  double  waist 
coat  summer  and  winter,  with  a  silk  hat  of  antique 
brand,  and  trousers  that  were  built  on  the  Turkish  plan, 
full  and  flowing.  Even  on  the  hottest  day  his  waist 
coat  was  buttoned  up  to  his  chin.  He  was  neither 
handsome  nor  prepossessing.  He  was  plain  and  rough 
of  speech,  with  a  variety  of  odd  characteristics.  There 
\vas  neither  charm  in  his  conversation  nor  magnetism 
in  his  personality.  Yet  he  wielded  for  many  years 
a  great  influence  in  Republican  councils,  made  and 
unmade  public  men  of  the  State,  and  was  credited  by 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        45 

such  astute  politicians  as  Rollins  and  Chandler  with 
controlling  appointments  and  shaping  nominations  for 
office.  Although  uneducated,  he  possessed  a  large  fund 
of  common  sense,  and  his  judgment  of  men  and  meas 
ures  was  remarkably  accurate.  His  homely  and  laconic 
comment  often  nipped  in  the  bud  the  aspirations  of 
ambitious  men.  By  leading  men  of  the  party  he  was 
feared  and  courted.  He  aspired  to  no  office  except  that 
of  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  of  Croydon, 
which  he  held  for  upwards  of  thirty  years.  He  at 
tended  all  legislative  sessions,  seeking  but  not  impart 
ing  information.  In  all  important  controversies  before 
the  legislature,  especially  railroad  contests,  Durkee 
was  invariably  the  retained  agent  of  one  of  the  parties. 
His  favorite  maxim  was,  "  Don't  write,  send  word." 
He  literally  followed  this  maxim  through  life.  If  he 
contributed  to  the  support  of  the  federal  government, 
it  was  not  through  the  Post  Office  department.  Dur- 
kee's  interests  in  politics  were  almost  always  antago 
nistic  to  Rolling's  ambition. 

The  campaign  which  followed  the  nominations  was 
intense  and  the  result  a  surprise  to  the  Democrats. 
Metcalf  was  elected  by  the  people ;  the  Know  Noth 
ing  majority  in  the  legislature  was  overwhelming,  and 
all  three  candidates  for  Congress  had  good  majorities. 

The  American  party,  made  up  of  men  who  had  long 
been  in  political  antagonism,  was  without  recognized 
leadership.  Its  ranks  were  full  of  ambitious  men.  Its 
danger  was  that  personal  disappointment  at  not  secur 
ing  recognition  would  outweigh  the  principles  for 


46  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

which  the  party  stood,  and  that  it  would  break  into 
factions  with  its  first  taste  of  power.  Elected  to  this 
legislature  were  a  number  of  able  men  who  afterward 
were  honored  by  high  positions  in  the  Republican 
party.  Among  Rollins's  contemporaries  in  the  legis 
lature  were  Daniel  M.  Christie,  6f  Dover,  Daniel 
Clark,  of  Manchester,  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lancaster, 
James  W.  Emery,  of  Portsmouth,  Thomas  M.  Ed 
wards,  of  Keene,  Mason  W.  Tappan,  of  Bradford, 
Bainbridge  Wadleigh,  of  Milford,  Joel  Eastman,  of 
Conway,  John  J.  Prentiss,  of  Claremont,  Thomas  L. 
Tullock,  of  Portsmouth,  Paul  R.  George,  of  Hopkin- 
ton,  Jonathan  Kittredge,  of  Canaan,  William  M. 
Weed,  of  Sandwich,  and  William  H.  Gove,  of  Weare, 
representing  the  majority,  and  Samuel  Herbert,  of 
Rumney,  and  John  G.  Sinclair,  of  Bethlehem,  repre 
senting  the  minority. 

The  legislative  caucus  of  the  American  party  de 
veloped  several  candidates  for  Speaker,  but  only  one 
ballot  was  necessary  to  nominate.  This  ballot  was  as 
follows :  Jacob  Benton,  2 ;  Daniel  Clark,  2 ;  Thomas 
M.  Edwards,  4;  Jonathan  Kittredge,  7;  Joel  East 
man,  23 ;  Edward  H.  Rollins,  39 ;  John  J.  Prentiss, 
108. 

In  the  make-up  of  the  committees  Rollins  was  put 
on  the  judiciary  committee,  of  which  Christie  was  the 
chairman,  while  Edwards,  Emery,  Benton,  Herbert, 
and  Sinclair  were  among  his  associates.  Clark  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  banks,  Wadleigh  of 
manufactures,  Gove  of  agriculture,  George  of  mili- 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        47 

tary  affairs,  Kittredge  of  incorporations,  Tappan  of 
railroads,  and  Eastman  of  elections,  but  none  of  them 
was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  although 
five  were  lawyers.  Either  there  were  too  many 
lawyers  in  the  House  for  the  membership  of  that  com 
mittee,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  the  chairmanship  of 
a  committee  was  considered  a  greater  recognition  than 
membership  of  the  judiciary  committee.  Yst  Clark 
was  a  formidable  candidate  for  United  States  Senator 
at  that  session,  there  being  two  vacancies  to  fill,  and 
Christie,  Edwards,  and  Eastman  were  voted  for  in  the 
American  legislative  caucus.  Edmund  Burke,  of  New- 
port,  and  Gilman  Marston,  of  Exeter,  also  received 
votes  at  this  caucus. 

Edmund  Burke  was  intellectually  one  of  the  strong 
est  men  of  his  time  in  New  Hampshire,  a  man  of  ex 
tensive  reading  and  wide  information.  He  was  lacking 
in  the  attributes  of  the  orator,  and  was  rather  prosaic 
as  a  public  speaker,  but  he  wielded  a  ready  pen,  which 
he  employed  through  life  both  in  attack  and  defence. 
He  was  a  Democratic  member  of  Congress  from  New 
Hampshire  for  three  terms  from  1839  to  1845,  and 
Commissioner  of  Pensions  under  Polk.  With  the 
possible  exception  of  Pierce,  he  had  the  largest  ac 
quaintance  with  public  men  in  the  country  of  any  man 
in  New  Hampshire  at  the  time  of  Pierce's  nomination 
for  the  Presidency.  He  headed  the  delegation  from  the 
State  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  in  1852, 
and  played  a  large  part  in  shaping  that  convention  in 
favor  of  Pierce.  Both  he  and  his  friends  expected  that 


48  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

he  would  be  a  member  of  Pierce's  cabinet,  but  the 
latter  ignored  him.  For  this  slight  and  ingratitude 
Burke  was  determined  to  overthrow  Pierce's  suprem 
acy  in  New  Hampshire,  and  for  this  purpose  allied 
himself  with  the  American  party,  being  one  of  its 
active  members.  His  affiliation  was  short-lived,  how 
ever,  and  he  returned  to  the  Democratic  party  to  be 
come  one  of  its  extreme  advocates.  He  was  appointed 
Commissioner  of  Patents  by  President  Buchanan,  and 
later  wrote  a  defence  of  Buchanan's  administration. 
He  did  not  afterward  hold  public  office,  but  he  was 
prominent  in  Democratic  councils  until  the  time  of  his 
death. 

Of  the  members  of  this  legislature  four  were  after 
ward  elected  to  Congress,  Tappan,  Edwards,  Benton, 
and  Kollins ;  three  became  United  States  Senators, 
Clark,  Rollins,  and  Wadleigh ;  Kittredge  was  made 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  William 
Haile,  of  the  State  Senate,  became  governor. 

Rollins  appears  from  the  reports  made  by  him  at 
this  session  of  the  legislature  to  have  done  his  share  of 
committee  work.  Two  of  these  were  adverse  reports 
on  legislation  affecting  the  property  rights  of  married 
women.  If  he  were  opposed  at  that  time  to  enlarging 
the  property  rights  of  women,  he  outgrew  his  opposi 
tion,  for  his  will  left  almost  all  his  property  to  his 
wife  to  dispose  of  as  in  her  judgment  seemed  best. 

In  initiating  legislation  Rollins's  efforts  were  con 
fined  to  securing  charters  for  banks  and  insurance  com 
panies  and  amendments  to  existing  charters.  He  had 


ENTRANCE    UPON   A    POLITICAL    CAREER        49 

charge  of  the  bill  amending  the  charter  of  the  city  of 
Concord,  taking  part  in  several  debates  upon  the 
amendments.  The  session  was  largely  devoted  to  politi 
cal  legislation,  the  legislature  removing  by  address  a 
considerable  number  of  Democrats  from  office,  and  re- 
districting  the  State  in  Senatorial  districts.  To  the 
direction  of  this  legislation  Rollins  devoted  himself, 
rapidly  developing,  at  this  time,  those  qualities  as  a 
party  manager  which  afterward  made  him  distin 
guished.  In  the  absence  of  the  Speaker  he  was  elected 
Speaker  pro  tempore. 

The  next  campaign  was  started  by  the  American 
party  while  the  legislature  was  in  session.  A  mass- 
meeting,  of  which  Rollins  had  charge,  was  held  at  Con 
cord,  in  July.  It  was  addressed  by  the  recently  elected 
Senators,  John  P.  Hale  and  James  Bell.  In  this  cam 
paign  of  1856  the  Democrats  made  great  efforts  to 
regain  control  of  the  State.  The  March  election,  be 
sides  its  importance  in  being  the  first  State  election 
of  the  Presidential  year,  would  have  a  bearing  upon  the 
prospects  of  President  Pierce,  who  sought  a  renomina- 
tion  at  the  hands  of  his  party.  Therefore,  whatever 
influence  the  administration  at  Washington  could  exert 
was  used. to  spur  the  Democrats  of  New  Hampshire 
to  activity.  The  attention  of  the  whole  country  was 
riveted  upon  the  State.  The  American  party,  or,  as 
it  was  soon  to  be  called,  the  Republican  party,  was  now 
thoroughly  organized,  Rollins  becoming  its  recognized 
manager. 

The  campaign  was  conducted  with  great  energy  on 


50  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

both  sides.  The  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State 
committee  was  Francis  B.  Peabody,  of  Concord.  He 
enriched  the  canvass  by  securing1  the  presence,  as 
speakers,  of  these  distinguished  Democrats,  Howell 
Cobb,  of  Georgia,  James  L.  Orr,  of  South  Carolina, 
Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon,  and  John  B.  Weller,  of  Cali 
fornia.  In  no  place  was  the  contest  fiercer  than  in 
Concord,  the  home  of  President  Pierce,  and  in  no 
ward  of  that  city  was  the  struggle  greater  than  in 
Ward  4.  The  Statesman'  described  the  Ward  4  con 
test  as  "  the  hardest  fought  battle  that  ever  took  place 
within  the  boundaries  of  '  ancient  Penacook.'  '  It 
"  beat  all  sanguinary  contests  in  a  city  notorious  for 
the  energy  with  which  political  contests  have  been 
waged,"  and  "  when  the  vote  was  declared  toward  eve 
ning,  showing  the  reelection  of  Eollins  and  Ballard 
to  the  legislature,  the  old  town  hall  shook  with  a  vol 
ume  of  applause  like  that  of  olden  times.  There 
has  rarely  been  manifested  deeper  disappointment 
than  that  of  the  Democrats  of  Ward  4  at  this 
result." 

The  returns  from  the  State  showed  a  considerable 
gain  for  the  Democrats  on  the  popular  vote,  a  gain 
sufficient  to  prevent  an  election  of  governor  by  the 
people.  The  American  party  carried  the  legislature, 
but  by  a  greatly  reduced  majority.  There  had  been 
close  elections  in  a  number  of  wards  and  towns,  Rol 
lins  being  reflected  by  only  seven  majority. 

As  soon  as  the  result  of  the  election  was  known, 
Rollins  announced  his  candidacy  for  Speaker  of  the 


ENTRANCE    UPON   A    POLITICAL    CAREER        51 

House.  Prentiss,  who  was  Speaker  in  the  previous 
legislature,  was  reflected  to  the  House,  and  again  a 
candidate  for  the  position  of  presiding  officer.  Ac 
cording  to  precedent  he  was  entitled  to  a  renomination. 
He  had  made  a  model  presiding  officer  and  was  person 
ally  popular.  Rollins,  however,  asserted  that  Prentiss 
had  made  an  agreement  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  re 
election  to  the  Speakership.  A  third  candidate  ap 
peared  in  the  field,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua,  who 
continued  a  rival  of  Rollins  for  party  honors  until  both 
retired  from  active  political  life.  When  the  legisla 
ture  met,  indications  pointed  to  the  renomination  of 
Prentiss.  It  was  then  that  Rollins  decided  upon  a 
bold  move,  the  success  of  which  launched  him  upon  an 
extended  political  career.  Had  he  failed,  his  defeat 
in  the  circumstances  might  have  brought  his  political 
ambitions  to  an  untimely  end.  He  attended  the  legis 
lative  caucus  and  demanded  to  be  heard  before  the  vote 
was  taken.  He  recited  the  agreement  with  Prentiss, 
and  requested  the  caucus  to  observe  it  if  Prentiss  did 
not.  The  lights  and  shadows  of  that  gathering  have 
disappeared,  and  it  lives  mostly  in  tradition  as  an 
aggressive  contest  on  Rollins's  part  fraught  with 
danger  to  his  future. 

The  vote  in  caucus  was  as  follows:  First  ballot: 
David  Cross,  of  Manchester,  1 ;  James  N.  Lovering, 
of  Exeter,  1 ;  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua,  21 ;  John 
J.  Prentiss,  of  Keene,  50 ;  Edward  H.  Rollins,  of  Con 
cord,  72. 

Second    Ballot :     William    Haile,    of    Hinsdale,    1 ; 


52  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

John  J.  Prentiss,  of  Keene,  30 ;    Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of 
Nashua,  3G ;    Edward  II.  Kollins,  of  Concord,  80. 

None  of  the  newspapers  of  the  American  party  re 
ferred  to  the  incidents  of  the  caucus.  The  Union  Dem 
ocrat,  of  Manchester,  made  the  caucus  the  subject  of 
a  spicy  editorial,  attacking  personally  both  Rollins  and 
Prentiss,  and  sneering  at  the  new  party.  The  New 
Hampshire  Patriot  gives  the  Democratic  version  of 
the  caucus  as  follows : 


"  E.  H.  Rollins,  of  Concord,  was  nominated  for 
Speaker  by  the  Hindoo  caucus.  This  was  a  very  re 
markable  result,  and  we  have  the.  facts  from  which  a 
very  interesting  chapter  might  be  written  upon  the 
subject,  but  we  must  defer  it  to  a  more  convenient, 
season.  The  result  shows  the  power  Rollins  possesses 
to  control  his  party.  Against  all  precedents  and 
against  the  real  wishes  of  four-fifths  of  the  members 
he  received  the  nomination.  Prentiss  had  been  Speaker 
but  one  year,  made  a  very  good  one,  was  very  generally 
acceptable  to  his  party,  desired  and  labored  for  a  re- 
nomination,  to  which  he  was  entitled  by  precedent,  and 
which  a  large  majority  of  the  members  really  wished 
to  confer  upon  him,  yet  he  received  but  fifty  votes  out 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  cast  in  the  caucus. 
Such  a  result  must  have  been  very  humiliating  to  him, 
as  it  is  very  discreditable  to  his  party.  The  fact  is 
they  were  driven,  frightened  into  the  abandonment  of 
Prentiss  and  the  nomination  of  Rollins  by  the  loud 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        53 

boasts  and  threats  of  certain  friends  of  the  latter,  who 
represented  that  some  twenty  or  thirty  members  had 
pledged  themselves  to  stick  to  Kollins  in  the  House. 
This  secured  his  nomination. 

"  The  caucus  was  a  secret  one,  but  we  learned  that 
there  was  a  long  and  acrimonious  discussion  in  regard 
to  the  Speakership,  in  the  course  of  which  it  came  out 
that  before  the  State  election  Rollins  had  been  prom 
ised  the  office  by  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  party, 
and  that  Prentiss  had  pledged  himself  that  he  would 
not  be  a  candidate  for  renomination  and  to  vote  for 
Rollins.  Yet  within  twenty-four  hours  of  his  election 
in  March  Prentiss  began  to  fugle  and  trade  for  a  re- 
nomination.  After  these  developments  and  certain 
pretty  plain  hints  that  trouble  would  follow  the  viola 
tion  of  this  contract  with  Rollins,  the  ballot  was  taken, 
when  Rollins  had  72,  Prentiss  50,  and  Stevens,  of 
Nashua,  21.  Prentiss  then  withdrew,  and  Rollins  was 
nominated  on  the  next  ballot,  having  80  votes  to  67  for 
others.  Prentiss  then  moved  that  the  nomination  be 
made  unanimous,  and  made  a  speech  promising  his 
cordial  support  of  it.  The  nomination  was  a  very 
bitter  pill  to  a  large  portion  of  the  members,  but  they 
regarded  it  as  a  medicine  to  be  taken  for  the  good  of 
the  system,  and  so  swallowed  it.  As  Rollins  is  in  the 
medicine  trade,  it  was  just  in  his  line  to  administer 
such  doses,  and  he  did  it  very  successfully." 

That  there  are  exaggeration  and  misstatement  in 
the  Patriot  article  is  apparent  to  all  who  knew  Rollins, 


54  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

for  never  was  there  a  more  loyal  party  man.  How 
ever  strongly  he  might  feel  that  he  deserved  recogni 
tion,  nothing  could  induce  him  to  pursue  a  course  that 
would  hazard  the  unity  of  the  party  organization.  Al 
though  defeated  several  times  in  after  years  in  his  am 
bition  to  be  United  States  Senator,  there  is  never  a 
word  in  his  correspondence  with  his  most  intimate 
friends,  before  or  after  the  contests,  that  can  be  tor 
tured  into  a  menace  or  threat  such  as  is  indicated  in 
this  article.  There  is  little  doubt  that  an  understand 
ing  was  reached  among  the  leaders  of  the  American 
party  prior  to  election  that  Rollins  should  be  Speaker 
in  event  of  success.  That  Prentiss  was  a  party  to  this 
understanding  is  most  probable,  but  such  arrangements 
are  never  reduced  to  writing,  or  generally  disseminated 
at  the  time.  There  is  always  a  difficulty  in  enforcing 
them  if  a  change  of  circumstances  leads  either  party 
to  ignore  the  arrangement.  Rollins  regarded  all  his 
political  promises  as  sacred.  Moreover,  he  was  always 
pronounced  in  his  condemnation  of  those  who  failed  to 
keep  their  political  obligations.  Therefore,  when  Pren 
tiss  ignored  the  understanding,  Rollins  determined  to 
face  him  in  the  caucus,  and  to  appeal  to  that  body  to 
observe  it  if  Prentiss  did  not.  His  course  provoked 
criticism  from  members  of  his  own  party  at  the  time, 
and  the  incident  was  kept  alive  by  the  Democrats  for 
several  years,  much  to  Rollins' s  annoyance.  In  a  letter 
to  William  II.  Gove,  of  Weare,  dated  October  22,  1858, 
he  said: 

"  I  desire  a  correct  version  of  the  story  told  you  by 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        55 

Col.  John  H.  George  in  regard  to  the  organization  of 
the  House,  etc.,  in  1856.  I  have  heard  various  reports 
of  the  conversation  and  wish  a  correct  one.  You  will, 
of  course,  be  as  willing  to  communicate  the  facts  in 
the  case  to  me'  as  to  any  other  individual.  Having 
labored  most  untiringly  and  most  devotedly  to  promote 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  Republican  party 
from  the  day  of  its  organization  to  the  present  time, 
having  never  in  a  single  instance  done  or  said  any 
thing  inconsistent  with  perfect  integrity,  having  toiled 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  devoting  the  best  energies 
of  my  life,  and  having  incurred  a  large  expense  in  aid 
of  the  cause,  I  feel,  as  you  would  under  similar  cir 
cumstances,  indignant  that  a  slander  of  that  character 
should  be  started  even  by  a  political  opponent,  and 
sorry  that  it  could  be  reported  or  believed  by  a  Repub 
lican.  If  I  can  get  the  yarn  in  some  tangible  shape,  I 
propose  to  probe  it  to  the  bottom.  You  will  oblige  me 
by  giving  me  the  desired  information  at  your  earliest 
convenience." 

Nothing  appears  to  have  come  of  this  appeal  to  Gove, 
and  the  presumption  is  that  the  exaggeration  of  the 
Patriot  story  grew  out  of  the  intensity  of  partisan 
feeling  at  the  time.  As  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  committee,  Rollins  was  to  the  close  of  his  politi 
cal  career  the  subject  of  Democratic  misrepresentation, 
to  most  of  which  he  gave  little  or  no  attention. 

Rollins  was  now  thirty-one  years  of  age.  Ahead  of 
him  was  the  task  of  showing  the  public  that  he  had 
qualifications  for  the  Speakership.  What  made  the  task 


56  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

more  difficult  was  that  he  had  supplanted  a  most  popu 
lar  presiding  officer  with  whose  administration  of  the 
office  his  own  would  surely  be  compared.  His  only 
experience  in  presiding  had  been  in  Masonic  bodies, 
and  the  few  occasions  he  had  occupied  the  chair  at  the 
previous  session  of  the  legislature.  His  speech  to  the 
House  upon  taking  the  chair  indicated  that  he  fully 
realized  the  embarrassments  of  his  undertaking.  He 
said: 

"Gentlemen:  I  accept  the  office  to  which  you  have 
elected  me  by  your  kind  partiality,  feeling  truly  grate 
ful  for  the  honor  thus  conferred  upon  me,  only  regret 
ting  that  I  cannot  bring  to  your  service  an  amount  of 
ability  and  experience  commensurate  with  its  duties 
and  responsibilities.  I  promise  you,  however,  that  my 
most  earnest  efforts  will  be  directed  to  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  presiding  officer  in  a  faithful  and  im 
partial  manner,  and  thus,  if  possible,  make  apparent 
to  you  what  language  would  fail  to  do,  my  appreciation 
of  this  mark  of  your  confidence  and  esteem.  Relying 
upon  your  kindness  and  forbearance,  I  shall  look  to 
you  for  wise  counsel  and  a  generous  and  cordial  sup 
port.  I  shall  expect  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the 
many  here  who  are  so  well  qualified  by  their  large  leg 
islative  experience  to  give  good  counsel,  assuring  them 
that  their  advice  will  ever  be  'most  kindly  received. 
Allow  me,  gentlemen,  to  express  the  hope  that  we  may 
commence  at  once  the  business  of  the  session  and  pur 
sue  it  with  so  much  diligence  that  we  shall  in  a  brief 
space  of  time  accomplish  all  needful  reforms,  pass  all 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER         57 

salutary  laws  required  of  us  by  the  people  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  be  in  readiness  to  separate  for  our  sev 
eral  homes,  having  done  nothing  to  impair  the  kindly 
feelings  we  now  entertain  for  each  other,  or  to  lessen 
the  confidence  reposed  in  us  by  our  constituents." 

Rollins  surpassed  all  expectations  as  a  presiding  of 
ficer.  He  showed  remarkable  aptitude  for  the  position, 
and  was  regarded  in  the  legislature,  and  later  in  the 
national  House  and  Senate,  as  a  most  competent  occu 
pant  of  the  chair. 

The  Presidential  campaign  was  under  consideration 
before  the  legislature  assembled,  in  fact  even  before 
the  March  election.  George  G.  Fogg,  the  editor  of  the 
Independent  Democrat,  published  at  Concord,  was  a 
delegate  to  a  national  convention  held  at  Pittsburg, 
February  22,  1856.  This  convention  was  made  up  of 
men  of  various  parties  who  were  opposed  to  slavery 
extension.  It  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Philadelphia 
convention  held  June  IT,  1856,  which  nominated  Fre 
mont  and  Dayton  for  President  and  Vice-President. 
Fogg  was  a  member  of  the  national  committee  ap 
pointed  by  the  Pittsburg  convention  which,  on  March 
26,  1856,  issued  the  call  for  the  convention  at  Phila 
delphia.  This  call  invited  "  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  without  regard  to  past  political  differences  or 
divisions,  who  are  opposed  to  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  to  the  policy  of  the  present  administra 
tion,  to  the  extension  of  slavery  in  Territories,  in  favor 
of  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a  free  State,  and  of  re 
storing  the  action  of  the  federal  government  to  the 


58  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

principles  of  Washington  and  of  Jefferson,  to  send 
three  delegates  from  each  Congressional  district,  and 
six  delegates  at  large  to  this  convention." 

This  call  was  published  in  both  Fogg's  paper  and 
in  the  Statesman.  In  the  latter  paper  it  is  referred 
to  as  "  the  call  for  the  Republican  convention."  In 
response  to  it  a  State  call  was  issued  May  10,  185G, 
for  a  mass-meeting,  June  10th,  at  Concord,  of  all  those 
who  could  act  together  on  the  principles  set  forth  in 
the  national  call  for  the  Philadelphia  convention.  At 
this  mass-meeting  the  following  delegates  were  elected 
to  the  Philadelphia  convention: 

State:  Amos  Tuck,  of  Exeter,  William  M.  Weed,  of 
Sandwich,  Daniel  Clark,  of  Manchester,  Benjamin 
Pettingill,  of  Salisbury,  Levi  Chamberlain,  of  Keene, 
and  Daniel  Blaisdell,  of  Hanover. 

District  Number  1 :  Henry  A.  Spear,  of  Laconia, 
James  W.  Emery,  of  Portsmouth,  George  P.  Folsom, 
of  Dover. 

District  Number  2 :  George  G.  Fogg,  of  Concord, 
Austin  F.  Pike,  of  Franklin,  and  John  H.  Gage,  of 
Nashua. 

District  Number  3 :  John  H.  White,  of  Lancaster, 
Alvah  Smith,  of  Lempster,  and  Greenleaf  Cumin  ings, 
of  Lisbon. 

Fremont  was  nominated  June  19th,  and  that  eve 
ning,  at  Concord,  Fremont  Club  Number  1,  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  organized  at  Depot  Hall.  The  New 
Hampshire  delegates  at  Philadelphia  at  a  meeting  that 
morning  voted  "  that  this  delegation  unanimously  rcc- 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER         59 

ommen-d  and  urge  the  immediate  formation  of  Fremont 
Clubs  in  every  town  in  the  State,  to  be  numbered  in 
the  order  of  their  formation."  It  does  not  appear  that 
information  of  this  vote  was  sent  by  telegraph  to  Con 
cord  on  that  day ;  thus  the  probability  is  that  the  call 
for  the  Depot  Hall  meeting  was  issued  without  knowl 
edge  of  the  action  of  the  New  Hampshire  delegates  at 
Philadelphia.  The  officers  of  this  club  were:  Presi 
dent,  E.  H.  Rollins ;  recording  secretary,  William 
E.  Chandler,  corresponding  secretary,  James  Pev- 
erly;  treasurer,  Sylvester  Dana;  vice-presidents, 
Albert  H.  Drown,  Cyrus  Robinson,  Moses  Humphrey, 
Hamilton  E.  Perkins,  John  Y.  Mugridge,  Peter  San- 
born,  Benjamin  Green;  executive  committee,  James 
Peverly,  A.  B.  Holt,  J.  L.  Jackson,  L.  D.  Brown, 
William  Ballard. 

This  meeting  was  attended  by  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lan 
caster,  George  W.  Everett,  of  New  London,  Aaron  F. 
Stevens,  of  Nashua,  Bainbridge  Wadleigh,  of  Milford, 
George  W.  Nesmith,  of  Franklin,  and  other  American 
members  of  the  legislature  then  in  session,  who  par 
ticipated  in  the  proceedings,  making  the  action  taken 
by  the  Concord  supporters  of  Fremont  the  basis  of 
action  for  other  towns.  The  meeting  voted  "  that  all 
friends  of  liberty  in  this  State  be  invited  to  form  Fre 
mont  Clubs  in  the  several  towns,  and  to  correspond 
with  this  club,"  thus  making  the 'Concord  club  the 
nucleus  of  a  party  organization  for  the  State.  It  was 
around  this  club  that  the  Republican  party  of  New 
Hampshire  had  its  beginning,  although  the  name  Re- 


60  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

publican  had  not  yet  common  acceptance  with  all  who 
became  members  of  Fremont  Clubs  in  Xew  Hamp 
shire. 

"  For  several  months/'  says  William  E.  Chandler, 
"  the  straight  name  ( Republican '  was  carefully 
avoided  by  the  leaders  to  offend  no  sensibility  of  the 
recruits.  All  were  Fremonters  in  that  they  supported 
Fremont  for  President,  and  were  opposed  to  slavery 
extension,  but  they  had  been  drawn  from  the  Demo 
cratic,  the  Whig,  the  Free-soil,  and  American  parties 
with  more  or  less  attachments  to  old  associations  and 
some  suspicion  of  the  new."  The  term  "  Republican  " 
was  applied  to  the  new  party  by  the  Democratic  news 
papers  of  the  State,  who  soon  enlarged  it  into  "  Black 
Republican."  It  is  only  occasionally  in  the  campaign 
that  the  Statesman  and  the  Independent  Democrat 
made  use  of  the  former  term.  The  Fremont  Clubs 
were  the  rallying-point ;  through  them  the  Republican 
organization  was  perfected. 

A  State  committee  was  appointed  for  the  campaign, 
with  Rollins  as  chairman,  and  Sylvester  Dana,  of  Con 
cord,  as  secretary.  Dana  is  one  of  the  few  of  the  old 
guard  still  living.  He  identified  himself  with  the  Free- 
soil  party  on  attaining  his  majority,  and  held  to  that 
organization  until  the  Republican  party  was  formed 
out  of  the  forces  hostile  to  the  extension  of  slavery. 
Earnest  and  active  in  politics  during  all  the  crucial 
years  of  slavery  agitation,  his  interest  in  public  affairs 
has  never  abated.  For  many  years,  and  until  retired 
by  age  limitations,  he  was  judge  of  the  police  court  of 


ENTRANCE    UPON    A    POLITICAL    CAREER        61 

Concord.  He  was  closely  associated  with  the  leaders 
of  the  Republican  party  in  its  formation  and  develop 
ment. 

There  is  no  reference  in  the  newspapers  to  a  State 
committee  during  this  campaign.  Dana,  however, 
gives  it  as  his  recollection  that  the  committee  was  ap 
pointed  after  the  legislature  adjourned  in  July,  and 
that  it  was  the  work  of  leading  American  members  of 
the  legislature  and  others  who  were  brought  into  confer 
ence  with  them.  It  was  at  this  conference,  made  up 
of  Know  Nothings,  Whigs,  and  Free-soilers,  that  an 
agreement  wTas  reached  as  to  the  officers  of  this  com 
mittee,  and  on  motion  of  Amos  Tuck,  of  Exeter, 
Rollins  and  Dana  were  elected  to  the  positions  of 
chairman  and  secretary. 

Besides  his  work  as  chairman  of  the  State  commit 
tee,  Rollins  took  part  in  the  speaking  of  this  campaign. 
It  was  not  his  first  appearance  on  the  stump.  In  the 
spring  campaign  of  1856  he  made  one  or  more 
speeches.  His  maiden  effort  was  at  Chichester.  He 
had  as  associate  speakers  at  the  meeting  John  Y. 
Mugridge  and  others,  of  Concord.  According  to  a  re 
port  of  the  meeting  which  appeared  in  Fogg's  news 
paper,  the  speakers  had  a  baptism  of  fire  through  an 
attempt  of  the  Democrats  to  break  up  the  meeting. 
Mugridge,  who  was  the  first  speaker,  had  a  number 
of  interruptions,  but,  when  Rollins  took  the  floor,  the 
demonstrations  were  decidedly  hostile.  The  news 
paper  account  of  the  meeting  says:  "  The  evident  in 
tention  was  to  prevent  Rollins  from  speaking,  but  he 


62  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

was  not  a  man  to  be  bluffed  in  that  way.  He  waited 
coolly  until  the  storm  had  in  a  good  measure  spent 
itself,  and  then  proceeded  to  show,  and  did  show,  to 
every  unprejudiced  mind  that  the  American  party  now 
occupies  the  same  ground  on  the  question  of  slavery 
extension  that  the  Democratic  party  occupied  under 
Jefferson,  and  even  to  the  time  when  the  infamous 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  enacted.  Mr.  Eollins  stated 
as  a  fact,  which  made  quite  an  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  audience,  that  of  the  five  who  had  come 
from  Concord  to  have  a  friendly  discussion  with  the 
people  of  Chichester,  four  had  always  been  with  the 
Democratic  party."  The  other  speakers  were  also  in 
terrupted,  and  two  Democrats  insisted  upon  address 
ing  the  meeting.  When  they  had  finished,  Rollins 
again  took  the  floor  and  replied  to  their  charges  against 
the  preceding  legislature.  In  the  fall  campaign  of 
1856  Rollins  again  spoke  at  Chichester,  and  this  time 
with  Mugridge  and  Chandler.  The  meeting  was  or 
derly  throughout. 

The  Independent  Democrat  of  October  30,  1856, 
says :  "  We  learn  that  the  returns  by  the  Fremont 
State  committee,  the  result  of  an  actual  canvass  of 
nearly  every  town  of  the  State,  indicate  more  than  six 
thousand  majority  for  Fremont  over  Buchanan.'7  This 
was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  of  Rollins's  State 
canvasses  which  for  accuracy  have  never  been  sur 
passed,  and  which  gave  him  a  reputation  all  over  the 
country  as  a  sagacious  political  manager.  Fremont's 
actual  majority  over  Buchanan  was  5,556. 


ENTRANCE    UPON   A    POLITICAL    CAREER        63 

John  H.  George,  of  Concord,  was  chairman  of  the 
Democratic  State  committee  during  the  Presidential 
campaign  as  well  as  during  the  succeeding  spring  cam 
paign  of  1857.  Strong  personality  showed  itself  in 
his  positive  convictions  and  in  his  fearlessness  in  ex 
pressing  them.  The  only  offices  he  ever  held  were  in 
line  with  his  profession,  those  of  county  solicitor  of 
Merrimack  County  and  United  States  District  Attor 
ney,  both  by  appointment.  He  was  a  candidate  of  his 
party  several  times  for  Congress,  and  stumped  the  dis 
trict.  Had  George  ever  been  elected,  no  rules  or  tra 
ditions  of  the  national  House  of  Eepresentatives  would 
have  prevented  him  from  impressing  himself  upon  that 
body.  All  his  political  movements  were  frontal  attacks 
made  without  regard  to  consequence  to  himself.  He 
neither  conciliated  enemies  nor  flattered  friends.  On 
the  stump  he  spoke  his  mind  and  courted  joint  dis 
cussion  of  political  issues.  Had  his  lot  been  cast 
earlier  in  the  century,  when  his  party  was  in  power 
in  the  State,  nothing  could  have  prevented  his  attain 
ing  its  highest  gifts.  He  was  an  antagonist  to  be 
feared  at  the  bar  or  in  the  forum,  being  thoroughly 
equipped  and  ready  for  any  emergency.  A  long  life 
as  a  minority  leader  neither  dampened  his  ardor  nor 
affected  his  genial  disposition. 

George  and  Eollins  were  neighbors,  and  their  social 
relations  were  never  disturbed  by  their  antagonism 
in  politics.  In  fact,  each  held  the  other  in  the  highest 
personal  esteem,  being  drawn  together  by  certain  at 
tributes  which  were  common  to  both  men.  Intense 


64  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

in  their  convictions,  each  believed  in  direct  methods. 
Both  were  positive  and  aggressive  men,  yet  neither 
cherished  resentment  after  conflict.  An  incident  oc 
curred  on  the  night  of  Rollins's  first  reelection  to 
Congress  which  shows  their  mutual  regard.  George 
was  Rollins's  opponent  at  this  election.  The  contest 
had  been  particularly  close,  and  the  early  reports  so  far 
indicated  George's  election  that  the  Democrats  of  Con 
cord  began  to  celebrate.  Later  and  more  complete 
returns  showed  Rollins's  election  beyond  a  doubt. 
Leaving  his  political  friends,  George  hastened  to 
Rollins's  house,  announced  his  own  defeat,  and  con 
gratulated  his  opponent.  Of  the  large  company  as 
sembled  at  the  Rollins's  home  that  night  to  felicitate 
its  owner,  none  entered  more  heartily  into  the  spirit 
of  the  occasion  and  none  was  more  sincerely  earnest 
in  his  congratulations  than  George,  although  his  own 
ambition  to  go  to  Congress  had  been  particularly  acute 
at  the  time. 


CHAPTEK    IV. 

POLITICAL    ALLIANCES 

THE  Democrats  of  New  Hampshire  made  the  spring 
campaign  of  1857  a  continuation  of  the  Presidential 
campaign  of  1856.  At  their  convention  September  4, 
1856,  to  nominate  Presidential  electors,  they  selected 
their  candidate  for  governor  for  the  March  election 
of  1857.  John  S.  Wells,  of  Exeter,  was  renominated. 
Their  candidates  for  Congress  who  were  nominated 
much  later  were  George  W.  Kittredge,  of  Newmarket, 
George  W.  Morrison,  of  Manchester,  and  William  P. 
Wheeler,  of  Keene.  John  H.  George  continued  as 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  committee.  After 
the  November  election  of  1856  had  shown  Buchanan 
to  have  a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes,  the  Demo 
cratic  State  committee  at  one  of  its  meetings  did  the 
surprising  thing  of  voting  to  recommend  Wells  for  a 
position  in  Buchanan's  cabinet,  thereby  admitting  the 
probability  of  his  defeat  at  the  polls.  The  general 
trend  of  the  newspaper  discussion  of  the  campaign  of 
1857  indicated  that  Democratic  hopes  were  centred 
on  carrying  the  legislature,  with  the  possibility  of 
electing  one  or  more  of  their  candidates  for  Congress. 

65 


66  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

The  incoming  of  a  new  Democratic  national  adminis 
tration  was  a  stimulus  to  their  efforts. 

The  party  in  power  in  New  Hampshire  met  in  con 
vention  January  8,  1857,  in  response  to  a  call  of  its 
State  central  committee.  The  committee  had  not  yet 
formally  adopted  the  name  "  Republican "  for  their 
party.  The  call  was  as  follows : 

"  A  State  convention  of  all  the  people  of  New 
Hampshire  who  are  opposed  to  the  policy  of  the  pres 
ent  sectional,  proslavery,  anti-American  administra 
tion,  which  repealed  the  Missouri  Compromise  and 
forced  slavery  upon  Kansas  by  fear  and  border  ruffian 
violence,  of  all  who  are  in  favor  of  restoring  freedom 
to  Kansas,  and  reestablishing  constitutional  principles 
that  slavery  shall  not  be  extended  over  territory  now 
free,  and  all  who  supported  Fremont  and  Dayton  at, 
the  late  Presidential  election,  will  be  held  at  Concord 
on  Thursday,  January  8,  1857,  at  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  can 
didates  for  governor,  railroad  commissioner,  and  three 
Representatives  to  Congress  to  be  supported  at  the 
coming  State  election." 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  Rollins  as 
chairman  of  the  State  central  committee,  who  presided 
until  an  organization  was  effected.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  report  permanent  officers  for  the  conven 
tion,  and  the  same  committee  was  authorized  to  report 
a  State  central  committee.  Amos  Tuck,  of  Exeter,  was 
made  president  of  the  convention.  A  committee  on 
resolutions  reported  the  platform,  and  then  the  con- 


POLITICAL   ALLIANCES  67 

vention  proceeded  to  ballot  for  governor.  A  large 
number  of  candidates  were  voted  for,  but  the  contest 
was  between  Ichabod  Goodwin,  of  Portsmouth,  and 
William  Haile,  of  Hinsdale.  Goodwin  had  been  the 
candidate  of  the  Whig  party  at  the  previous  spring 
election,  receiving  2,360  votes.  There  was  a  strong 
sentiment  in  the  convention  in  favor  of  his  nomination, 
but  the  leaders  favored  the  selection  of  one  less  closely 
identified  with  the  old  Whig  organization.  An  in 
formal  ballot  for  governor  resulted  as  follows : 

Ichabod  Goodwin,  of  Portsmouth,  181,  William 
Haile,  of  Hinsdale,  130,  with  136  complimentary 
votes  given  to  seventeen  leading  members  of  the  party. 
Haile  was  nominated  on  the  third  ballot,  and  his 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

The  State  committee  selected  by  the  convention  was 
as  follows : 

Rockingham  County  —  James  M.  Lovering,  of 
Exeter,  Thomas  L.  Tullock,  of  Portsmouth,  Amos 
Tuck,  of  Exeter,  Joseph  P.  Morse,  of  Portsmouth, 
Amos  C.  Clement,  of  Plaistow. 

StrafTord  County  —  George  M.  Herring,  of  Far- 
mington,  M.  C.  Burleigh,  of  Somersworth,  Richard  N". 
Ross,  of  Dover,  George  C.  Peavey,  of  Stratford. 

Belknap  County-  H.  A.  Spear,  of  Laconia,  J.  P. 
Morrison,  of  Gilford,  C.  K.  Kelley,  of  Sanbornton, 
George  W.  Morrison,  of  Gilmanton. 

Carroll  County  —  William  M.  Weed,  of  Sandwich, 
Larkin  D.  Mason,  of  Tamworth,  Luther  D.  Sawyer, 
of  Ossipee,  Elijah  Wadleigh,  of  Wakefield. 


68  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Merrimack  County  —  Edward  H.  Rollins,  of  Con 
cord,  George  W.  Everett,  of  New  London,  Austin  .F. 
Pike,  of  Franklin,  Sylvester  Dana,  of  Concord,  Will 
iam  E.  Chandler,  of  Concord,  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway, 
of  Warner. 

Hillsborough  County  —  Charles  P.  Danf  orth,  of 
Nashua,  Frederick  Smyth,  of  Manchester,  Charles  H. 
Campbell,  of  Amherst,  Hosea  Eaton,  of  New  Ipswich, 
Daniel  McCaine,  of  Francestown. 

Cheshire  County  —  F.  A.  Faulkner,  of  Keene, 
Amasa  May,  of  Gilsum,  Milan  Harris,  of  Nelson, 
Charles  J.  Amidon,  of  Hinsdale. 

Sullivan  County  —  John  J.  Prentiss,  of  Claremont, 
Ruel  Durkee,  of  Croydon,  Alvah  Comings,  of  Cornish, 
Levi  W.  Barton,  of  Newport. 

Grafton  County  —  John  H.  Thompson,  of  Holder- 
ness,  George  S.  Towle,  of  Lebanon,  Greenleaf  Cum- 
mings,  of  Lisbon,  Jacob  C.  Bean,  of  Enfield,  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  of  Warren. 

Coos  County  —  Aurin  Chase,  of  Whitefield,  Fred 
eric  G.  Messer,  of  Colebrook,  Barker  Burbank,  of  Shel- 
burne,  James  S.  Brackett,  of  Lancaster. 

The  foregoing  comprise  the  first  State  committee 
of  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire.  The 
names  are  almost  identical  with  those  appended  to  the 
call  for  the  convention.  There  were  seven  changes  and 
five  additions.  Of  the  names  which  appear  in  the 
committee  but  do  not  appear  in  the  call  the  best 
known  are  those  of  William  E.  Chandler,  Nehemiah 
G.  Ordway,  Charles  J.  Amidon,  and  Levi  W.  Barton. 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  69 

Chandler  did  not  become  of  age  until  December  28, 
1856. 

The  committee  organized  with  the  choice  of  Edward 
H.  Eollins  as  chairman  and  Sylvester  Dana  as  secre 
tary,  they  having  been  chairman  and  secretary  of  the 
committee  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1856. 

The  work  of  the  State  committee  in  making  the  can 
vass  of  the  State  and  mapping  out  the  campaign  was 
done  by  Rollins,  assisted  by  Secretary  Dana  and  Will 
iam  E.  Chandler,  the  latter  being  especially  active  in 
the  preparation  of  circulars  and  other  political  litera 
ture.  Following  so  closely  the  strenuous  Presidential 
canvass  of  1856,  this  campaign  was  lacking  in  public 
demonstration,  though  no  less  earnestly  conducted  by 
the  Republicans.  As  an  indication  of  the  frankness 
with  which  political  methods  were  discussed  by  the 
newspapers  at  this  time,  the  following  extract  from  an 
editorial  in  the  Statesman,  addressed  to  "  Republican 
Office-holders/'  is  given.  After  referring  to  the  activ 
ity  of  the  Democratic  federal  office-holders  in  the  pre 
vious  Presidential  campaign,  the  Statesman  makes  this 
appeal  to  the  Republican  State  officials : 

"  There  are  now  a  good  many  men  holding  office  in 
"New  Hampshire  whose  tenure  depends  entirely  upon 
the  continuance  of  the  Republican  party  in  power. 
They  have,  therefore,  an  important  stake  in  the  ap 
proaching  election,  and,  as  the  men  within  New  Hamp 
shire  who  will  hold  positions  under  the  government 
[federal]  are  at  work  to  overthrow  the  Republicans 
it  is  the  duty  of  office-holders  under  the  State  govern- 


70  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

merit  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  thwart  them.  The 
enemy  is  quietly  but  diligently  at  work.  The  inmates 
of  the  custom-houses  at  Boston  and  Portsmouth  are, 
we  are  informed,  entertaining  strong  hope  that  New 
Hampshire  is  about  to  go  over  to  the  black  Democracy. 
A  year  ago,  Hopkinton,  in  this  county,  and  other 
towns  were  carried  by  emissaries  and  money  from  the 
Boston  custom-house.  .  .  .  Probably  these  United 
States  government  office-holders  will  soon  be  prowling 
over  the  State  attending  to  the  closely  balanced  towns. 
It  is,  therefore,  right  that  the  Kepublican  office-holders 
should  meet  them  in  their  own  mode  of  warfare." 

The  total  vote  at  the  election  of  1857  fell  off  some 
six  thousand  from  the  Presidential  vote  of  1856,  but 
it  was  concentrated  on  the  two  candidates  for  governor 
of  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties,  there  being 
less  than  five  hundred  third  party  or  scattering  votes. 
The  Republican  candidate  for  governor  had  three  thou 
sand  plurality,  and  over  twenty-five  hundred  majority. 

When  the  legislature  of  1857  met,  Rollins  was  re- 
nominated  for  Speaker  by  acclamation  on  motion  of 
Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua.  The  principal  com 
mittee  appointments  included  the  leading  men  of  the 
legislature.  Napoleon  B.  Bryant,  of  Concord,  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  elections;  Henry  A. 
Bellows,  of  Concord,  of  judiciary;  James  M.  Lover- 
ing,  of  Exeter,  of  banks ;  Jacob  H.  Ela,  of  Rochester, 
of  retrenchment  and  reform,  William  H.  Y.  Hackett, 
of  Portsmouth,  of  railroads;  Frederick  Smyth,  of 
Manchester,  of  incorporations.  On  the  judiciary  com- 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  71 

mittee  were  Stevens,  of  ISTashua,  Lewis  W.  Clark,  of 
Manchester,  George  W.  Stevens,  of  Laconia,  and  Will 
iam  C.  Patten,  of  Kingston.  Ezekiel  A.  Straw,  of 
Manchester,  and  James  F.  Briggs,  of  Hillsboro,  were 
also  members  of  this  legislature.  Briggs,  who  later 
became  a  Republican,  was  at  that  time  a  Democrat. 
He  was  a  rival  of  Rollins  for  the  Senatorship  at  the 
time  the  latter  was  defeated  for  reelection,  in  1883. 
Stevens,  of  Nashua,  and  Ela  became  members  of  Con 
gress.  Smyth  and  Straw  became  governors  of  the 
State,  and  Clark  was  appointed,  twenty  years  later,  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State. 

Upon  this  legislature  devolved  the  duty  of  filling 
the  vacancy  in  the  United  States  Senate  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Senator  James  Bell,  May  26,  1857.  The 
Republican  legislative  caucus  to  nominate  a  candidate 
was  held  soon  after  the  legislature  was  organized. 
Only  one  ballot  was  necessary,  and  this  was  as  follows : 

George  W.  ^Tesmith,  of  Franklin,  1 ;  Amos  Tuck, 
of  Exeter,  8 ;  Ichabod  Goodwin,  of  Portsmouth,  23 ; 
Thomas  M.  Edwards,  of  Keene,  44;  Daniel  Clark,  of 
Manchester,  110. 

The  choice  of  Daniel  Clark,  who  had  been  a  prom 
inent  candidate  for  Senator  in  1855,  when  Hale  and 
Bell  were  chosen,  was  commended  in  the  highest  terms 
by  the  Republican  newspapers  of  the  State.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  term,  he  was  reflected  for  a  full  term 
of  six  years,  serving  in  all  ten  years  in  the  Senate. 
He  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  that  body,  and  was 
chosen  president  pro  tern  in  1864.  The  office  at  that 


72  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

time  was  more  important  than  now,  as  it  carried  with 
it  the  succession  to  the  presidency.  Clark  was  a  man 
of  great  ability,  attaining  national  distinction.  His 
defeat  for  reelection,  in  1866,  for  which  he  himself 
was  in  part  responsible,  was  a  distinct  loss  to  the  State. 
After  the  choice  of  his  successor,  he  resigned  to  take  an 
appointment  as  United  States  district  judge  for  New 
Hampshire,  a  position  he  held  until  his  death.  In 
1876,  he  was  elected  to  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  the  State  and  chosen  to  preside  over  its  delibera 
tion,  a  fitting  and,  as  it  proved  to  be,  the  best  selection 
that  could  have  been  made.  No  one  who  saw  him  as 
he  presided  over  this  convention  or  took  part  in  the  de 
bates  of  that  body  but  felt  the  influence  of  his  com 
manding  presence  and  impressive  speech. 

Amos  Tuck  was  one  of  the  early  Free-soilers  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1847,  and 
twice  reflected.  Hostility  to  slavery  extension  kept 
him  in  opposition  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  was 
a  leading  spirit  in  the  founding  of  the  Republican 
party.  The  designation  "  Republican  "  was  a  name 
that  he  early  suggested  for  the  new  party,  and  he  con 
tinued  prominent  in  its  councils  for  many  years.  He 
became  acquainted  with  Abraham  Lincoln  while  both 
were  members  of  Congress,  and  he  was  one  of  the  three 
men  considered  by  Lincoln  for  appointment  as  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy  in  his  first  administration.  Tuck 
was  appointed  naval  officer  of  customs  at  Boston  in 
1861,  and  reappointed  by  Lincoln  in  1865.  With  the 
other  officials  of  that  port  he  was  removed  by  President 


POLITICAL   ALLIANCES  73 

Johnson,  who  desired  to  make  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of 
Maine,  collector  of  Boston,  and  who,  at  that  time,  was 
attempting,  through  federal  appointments,  to  secure 
support  for  his  policy  of  reconstruction  of  the  South  in 
antagonism  to  that  of  the  Republican  majority  in  Con 
gress.  While  naval  officer  at  Boston,  Tuck  had  strong 
support  in  the  Republican  caucus  of  1864  as  a  candid 
ate  for  the  United  States  Senate.  His  interest  in  poli 
tics  continued  until  his  death  some  years  later,  but  he 
was  not  again  a  candidate  for  office. 

Thomas  M.  Edwards  was  at  this  time  a  prominent 
leader  of  the  new  party.  He  had  taken  a  conspicuous 
part  in  the  legislatures  of  1855  and  1856,  being  chair 
man  of  the  judiciary  committee  in  the  latter  year.  In 
both  legislatures  he  had  borne  a  leading  part  in  debates 
upon  political  questions.  He  was  recognized  as  a  man 
of  character  and  ability,  and  worthy  of  promotion.  In 
1859,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  where  he  served  two 
terms. 

At  the  close  of  the  legislative  session  of  1857,  Nehe- 
miah  G.  Ordway  was  appointed  high  sheriff  of  Merri- 
mack  County,  in  place  of  William  H.  Rixford,  re 
moved  by  address  of  the  legislature.  Ordway  had  been 
made  doorkeeper  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  State  in  1855,  when  the  Know  Nothing  party  at 
tained  power,  and  he  was  now  coming  to  the  front  as 
an  active  party  worker.  He  was  a  strong,  courageous, 
and  aggressive  personality,  indefatigable  in  his  labors. 
His  untiring  industry  and  aggressive  Republicanism 
soon  brought  him  into  leadership.  Inspiring  his  depu- 


/4  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

ties  with  his  own  zeal,  by  their  aid  he  became  an  active 
force  in  political  campaigns.  Later,  he  was  city  mar 
shal  of  Concord,  and  in  1863,  after  Rollins  was  sent 
to  Congress,  he  was  made  sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
National  House  of  Representatives,  a  position  he  held 
until  his  election  to  the  New  Hampshire  legislature, 
in  1875.  Subsequently  Ordway  was  appointed  Gov 
ernor  of  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  largely  through  Rol- 
lins's  influence. 

From  about  the  time  of  Ordway's  appointment 'as 
sheriff  dates  the  political  copartnership  of  Rollins, 
Chandler,  and  Ordway,  an  association  which  secured 
for  the  party  a  strong  and  able  leadership,  and  for  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  exceptional  recognition  at 
Washington  during  Lincoln's  administration.  They 
formed,  as  it  were,  the  Republican  machine  in  the  eyes 
of  both  party  associates  and  political  enemies.  Few 
men  in  public  life  have  been  more  bitterly  or  unjustly 
assailed.  Campaigns  were  fought  around  their  per 
sonality.  Their  success  provoked  jealousy.  At  times 
it  was  doubtful  who  were  more  hostile  to  them,  the 
Democrats  who  assailed  them  in  partisan  warfare,  or 
Republicans  who  were  envious  of  their  leadership. 

For  a  period  of  four  years,  from  1868  to  1872,  the 
hostility  to  the  "  firm,"  as  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ord 
way  were  called,  threatened  the  overthrow  of  the  Re 
publican  party  of  New  Hampshire.  So  wrought  up 
was  this  feeling  of  jealousy  that  some  Republicans 
would  have  almost  welcomed  Democratic  success  in  the 
State  if  it  had  brought  with  it  the  downfall  of  the 


POLITICAL   ALLIANCES  75 

triumvirate.  Yet  looking  over  the  literature  of  the 
time,  one  reaches  the  conclusion  that  the  jealousy  they 
provoked  in  the  Republican  party  arose  almost  wholly 
from  rival  ambitions  and  disappointed  hopes  natural 
in  a  State  producing  a  large  number  of  able  men  as 
candidates  for  the  few  high  positions  which  it  had  to 
bestow.  Rollins  bore  with  remarkable  patience  these 
personal  attacks  from  within  and  without  the  party, 
but  Chandler  and  Ordway  fought  them  to  the  finish, 
especially  the  attacks  from  party  associates.  Their 
different  attitudes  under  fire  were  due  first  to  their 
different  personalities,  and  second  to  their  official  re 
lations  at  the  time  to  the  party.  Rollins,  as  chairman 
of  the  State  committee,  was  charged  with  the  responsi 
bility  of  Republican  success  in  the  State,  while 
Chandler  was  holding  no  official  position  except  that 
of  secretary  of  the  National  Committee,  and  Ordway 
was  absent  from  the  State  most  of  the  time  because  of 
his  official  duties  in  Washington.  Then  again,  the 
attacks  were  oftentimes  more  severely  personal  on 
Chandler  and  Ordway  than  on  Rollins.  Furthermore, 
Rollins  did  not  lose  sight  of  his  ambition  to  go  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  which  could  not  be  realized  if 
the  Republican  party  was  defeated  in  E"ew  Hampshire 
by  personal  quarrels.  Thus  it  was  that  for  several 
years  a  great  part  of  the  history  of  the  Republican 
party  of  ISTew  Hampshire  was  identified  with  the  per 
sonal  and  political  association  of  these  three  men. 

The  Democrats,  following  their  custom,  opened  the 
campaign  of  1858  early  in  the  summer.     Their  State 


76  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

convention  met  June  10,  1857,  while  the  legislature 
was  in  session.  Asa  P.  Gate,  of  Northfield,  was  nom 
inated  for  governor,  and  John  M.  Hill,  of  Concord, 
was  made  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  commit 
tee.  Hill  was  a  son  of  former  governor  and  United 
States  Senator  Isaac  Hill.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
convictions  and  strong  party  feelings,  but  a  most  es 
timable  citizen.  He  was  associated  for  a  time  with 
William  Butterfield  in  the  publication  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Patriot,  a  paper  founded  by  his  father. 
While  not  aspiring  to  office,  he  was  an  active  leader 
and  counsellor  in  the  Democratic  party  for  many  years. 
In  1884,  he  was  a  nominee  of  his  party  for  governor, 
polling  the  full  party  strength.  In  later  life  his  par 
tisan  feelings  softened,  and  in  189G,  with  thousands 
of  other  Democrats  of  iSTew  Hampshire,  he  refused 
to  endorse  the  national  platform  and  candidates  of 
the  Democratic  party.  He  had  intimate  business  rela 
tions  for  many  years  with  Rollins,  each  holding  the 
other  in  high  esteem. 

As  soon  as  the  legislature  of  1857  adjourned,  the 
Democratic  newspapers  began  an  attack  upon  the  Re 
publican  State  administration  and  this  was  continued 
throughout  the  campaign.  The  Democratic  party  of 
the  country  was  dividing  on  the  policy  which  Bu 
chanan's  administration  was  pursuing  toward  Kansas, 
and,  therefore,  New  Hampshire  Democrats  were  dis 
posed  to  avoid  national  issues. 

The  call  for  the  Republican  State  convention  was 
signed  by  the  entire  State  committee.  The  convention 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  77 

met  at  Concord,  January  7,  1858.  Anthony  Colby  was 
chosen  president,  and  Governor  Haile  was  renominated 
by  acclamation.  The  platform  was  reported  by  Amos 
Tuck,  and  the  issue  of  the  campaign  was  outlined  in 
this  plank: 

"  While  we  stand  ready  to  defend  on  all  proper  oc 
casions  the  measures  of  the  government  of  this  State 
since  it  has  been  under  the  control  of  the  party  now  in 
power,  and  challenge  the  severest  scrutiny  of  our  en 
emies,  we  yet  refuse  to  be  drawn  away  from  the  great 
national  questions  whose  merits  are  more  than  all  else 
at  issue  in  the  canvass  which  we  this  day  inaugurate.'* 

The  convention  was  a  very  enthusiastic  one,  and  was 
addressed  during  the  proceedings  by  James  W.  Nye,  of 
New  York,  afterward  United  States  Senator  from 
Nevada.  Rollins  was  reflected  chairman  of  the  State 
committee,  and  William  E.  Chandler  was  made  secre 
tary.  The  Statesman  compliments  Rollins  for  his  zeal 
in  having  secured  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
clubs  in  the  various  towns  of  the  State  before  the  meet 
ing  of  the  convention.  Democratic  attacks  on  the 
State  administration  were  met  and  answered,  but  the 
issues  brought  home  to  the  people  by  the  Republican 
State  committee  and  the  Republican  press  were  those 
of  national  import. 

This  was  a  speaking  campaign,  although  there  wrere 
no  speakers  from  outside  the  State  on  the  Democratic 
side,  and  but  few  on  the  Republican.  The  principal 
speakers  for  the  Democrats  were  John  H.  George, 
Walter  Harriman  (then  a  Democrat),  John  S.  Wells, 


78  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

George  W.  Morrison,  Lewis  W.  Clark,  George  W. 
Stevens,  George  A.  Bingham,  William  T.  Morris,  and 
John  M.  Shirley.  The  Republican  State  committee 
appears  to  have  drawn  upon  nearly  all  its  local 
speakers  for  service  in  this  campaign,  and  in  addition 
they  had  the  assistance  of  Thomas  Russell  and  Charles 
C.  Woodman,  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  Rev.  E.  Nute, 
a  negro  from  Kansas.  The  activity  of  the  Republi 
cans  in  this  canvass  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that 
more  than  seventy-five  Republican  meetings  were 
scheduled  for  one  of  the  closing  weeks  of  the  cam 
paign. 

Rollins,  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  chairman  of  the 
State  committee,  spoke  a  number  of  times  in  this  cam 
paign.  His  experience  was  enriched  by  an  unexpected 
joint  debate  at  Warner.  Napoleon  B.  Bryant  had  been 
advertised  to  speak  there,  but,  being  unable  to  fill  the 
engagement,  Rollins  took  his  place.  At  the  close  of  his 
speech  one  of  the  local  leaders  undertook  to  answer 
Rollins  on  the  spot.  Such  occurrences  were  not  un 
common  in  those  days.  Only  meagre  accounts  of  the 
discussion  survive  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  The 
Democratic  newspapers  do  not  refer  to  it,  but  both  the 
Independent  Democrat  and  the  Statesman  credit 
Rollins  with  having  the  best  of  the  debate. 

The  election  resulted  in  a  great  victory  for  the  Re 
publicans.  It  was  a  straight  contest  between  the 
Republican  and  Democratic  parties,  no  third  party 
appearing  in  the  field,  and  the  scattering  vote  being 
surprisingly  small.  The  election  returns  show  the  fol- 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  79 

lowing  result:  Haile,  36,326;  Gate,  31,679;  scatter 
ing,  72. 

At  the  close  of  this  campaign  Rollins  made  a  visit  to 
Washington,  probably  his  first,  in  company  with 
George  G.  Fogg.  The  latter,  in  his  editorial  corre 
spondence  from  the  capital  to  the  Independent  Demo 
crat,  refers  to  their  visit  and  the  courtesy  shown  them 
by  Senator  John  P.  Hale  in  extending  to  them  the 
privileges  of  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate. 
Eighteen  years  of  active  political  strife  were  to  in 
tervene  before  Rollins  was  to  enter  that  body  as  a 
member.  Fogg,  in  this  correspondence,  takes  occa 
sion  to  say  that  the  recent  political  victory  in  New 
Hampshire  was  largely  due  to  the  "  indefatigable 
labor  "  of  Rollins  as  chairman  of  the  State  committee. 

The  campaigns  of  both  political  parties  of  ISTew 
Hampshire  at  this  time  were  conducted  in  the  simplest 
and  most  economical  manner.  The  rank  and  file  were 
enthusiastic  in  the  cause.  They  did  the  work  assigned 
to  them  without  compensation  for  time  or  expenses. 
They  devoted  days  and  nights  to  making  canvasses. 
They  rode  miles  in  all  kinds  of  winter  weather  to  get 
information,  attend  conventions  and  rallies,  and  to  get 
voters  home.  If  they  employed  help,  they  gave  the 
preference  to  voters  of  their  own  political  faith.  The 
headquarters  in  each  town  was  usually  a  country  store, 
and  in  many  localities  there  were  a  Republican  and  a 
Democratic  store.  Custom  at  these  stores  was  usually 
along  party  lines,  the  Republicans  patronizing  the  Re 
publican  store,  and  the  Democrats  the  merchant  who 


80  LIFE   OF   EDWAED    H.    ROLLINS 

voted  their  ticket.  The  country  store  and  the  tavern,  if 
there  was  one,  were  places  frequented  by  the  active 
politicians,  and  the  winter  evenings  were  spent  in  polit 
ical  discussion,  the  local  talkers  displaying  their  acu 
men  in  puncturing  the  weak  points  of  their  opponents' 
arguments.  The  newspapers  were  intensely  partisan, 
publishing  nothing  that  reflected  upon  their  side,  unless 
it  was  a  garbled  quotation  to  be  branded  as  false  or 
shown  up  as  inconsistent.  Only  the  leaders  read  the 
newspapers  of  the  opposition.  The  subscription  lists 
of  the  party  organs  were  made  up  almost  wholly  from 
devotees  of  the  cause  they  "represented.  The  "  lying 
sheet "  of  the  other  side  was  banished  from  a  majority 
of  households.  The  political  worker  during  the  closing 
days  of  a  campaign  was  excused  by  his  employer  from 
his  daily  toil  without  loss  of  wages  if  he  could  be  of 
service  to  the  party.  The  boys,  too,  were  early  inducted 
into  politics,  being  taken  to  political  rallies  and  as 
signed  to  work  which  their  elders  could  safely  entrust 
to  them.  Even  the  women  were  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  their  husbands,  fathers,  and  brothers,  and  entered 
with  enthusiasm  into  campaigns,  preparing  many  a 
supper  with  which  to  close  a  political  rally. 

The  records  of  the  secretary  of  the  Republican  State 
committee  for  the  years  1858,  1859,  and  1860,  for 
tunately  preserved,  give  authentic  information  of  the 
manner  of  conducting  the  campaigns  of  those  early 
days,  the  expenses  of  the  committees,  and  how  the 
funds  were  raised.  As  at  present,  the  legitimate  ex 
pense  of  the  campaign  had  to  be  provided  for  by  the 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  81 

State  committee,  and  was  incurred  in  getting  voters 
home,  circulating  literature,  employing  outside 
speakers,  conducting  correspondence,  providing  for 
State  conventions  and  for  mass-meetings  at  central 
points  when  these  were  held.  These  expenses  were  not 
so  large  as  they  are  at  the  present  day,  but  the  com 
mittee  appears  to  have  had  equal  difficulty  in  provid 
ing  for  them.  The  funds  were  almost  wholly  raised 
from  assessments  of  office-holders  and  candidates  for 
elective  offices.  The  federal  patronage  prior  to  March 
4,  1861,  was  in  Democratic  hands,  and  the  Republicans 
had  to  depend  upon  the  generosity  of  the  State  and 
county  officials  and  their  candidates  for  office. 

The  salaries  of  State  and  county  officials  were  very 
meagre.  The  governor  received  $1,000  a  year,  the 
secretary  of  state,  $800,  the  deputy  secretary  of  state, 
$200,  while  the  fees  of  the  office  were  divided  between 
them,  probably  not  enhancing  their  compensation  to 
more  than  $1,200  and  $500  respectively.  The  State 
treasurer  received  $600,  the  attorney-general,  $1,800, 
the  adjutant-general,  $400,  the  chief  justice  of  the 
supreme  judicial  court,  $2,000,  his  associates,  $1,800 
each,  while  the  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas  had  a  salary  of  $1,600  and  his  two  associates, 
$1,500  each.  The  county  solicitors  received  from 
thirty  to  fifty  dollars  annually,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  county,  while  the  judges  of  probate  had  com 
pensation  ranging  from  $150  to  $425  annually,  the 
latter  being  the  compensation  of  David  Cross,  judge  of 
probate  of  Hillsboro  County.  Amos  Hadley,  who  was 


82  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

State  printer  June  30,  1859,  received  from  the  State 
$5,863.04  for  the  public  printing.  Members  of  Con 
gress  and  United  States  Senators  were  at  that  time  re 
ceiving  a  salary  of  $3,000  a  year.  From  the  foregoing 
it  will  be  seen  how  difficult  it  was  to  raise  from  $1,500 
to  $2,000,  which  the  Republican  State  committee  re 
quired  for  use  in  those  campaigns. 

William  E.  Chandler  was  secretary  of  the  State  com 
mittee  in  the  campaigns  of  1858  and  1859,  and  Ben 
jamin  F.  Prescott  began  his  long  career  as  secretary 
in  1860.  It  is  from  the  records  of  these  three  years 
that  extracts  are  taken.  At  the  organization  of  the 
State  committee  January  7,  1858,  the  chairman  and 
secretary  were  instructed  to  give  to  Charles  C.  Wood 
man  a  written  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of  his 
services  upon  the  stump  in  the  last  two  campaigns. 
After  making  arrangements  for  speakers  and  for  a 
thorough  canvass  of  the  State  by  the  first  day  of  Feb 
ruary,  the  committee  voted : 

"  That  the  list  of  uncollected  assessments  upon  office 
holders  be  forwarded  to  the  county  committees  for 
collection. 

"  That  the  New  Hampshire  delegation  in  Congress 
be  assessed  the  sum  of  $500  toward  the  expenses  of  the 
campaign,  reserving  to  the  committee  the  right  to  call 
upon  the  delegation  for  $500  additional  if  needed. 

"  To  pay  General  James  W.  Nye  fifty  dollars  for 
services  and  expenses  to  address  the  State  convention." 

The  delegation  in  Congress  at  that  time  consisted 
of  Senators  John  P.  Hale  and  Daniel  Clark  and  Eepre- 


POLITICAL   ALLIANCES  83 

sentatives  James  Pike,  Mason  W.  Tappan,  and  Aaron 
H.  Cragin.  They  were  required  to  pay  $100  apiece 
into  the  campaign  fund,  with  the  contingency  that  each 
might  be  asked  to  duplicate  this  sum.  Small  as  was 
the  amount  called  for,  some  of  the  delegation  appear 
to  have  been  delinquent  in  its  payment.  That  they 
sent  only  fifty  dollars  apiece  is  shown  at  the  next 
meeting,  February  10,  1858,  when  the  committee 
voted : 

"  That  the  secretary  be  requested  to  instruct  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress 
to  forward  fifty  dollars  each  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
committee,  being  the  amount  still  unpaid  of  their  as 
sessment  voted  January  7,  1858." 

This  second  demand  of  the  committee  was  not  hon 
ored,  for,  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee  in  November, 
1858,  it  was  voted: 

"  That  the  Congressmen  (Senators  already  elected, 
and  Kepresentatives  hereafter  to  be  elected)  be  assessed 
$200  each. 

"  That  a  request  be  made  for  fifty  dollars  each  from 
the  Representatives  in  Congress,  being  the  balance  of 
assessment  heretofore  ordered." 

The  campaign  of  March,  1858,  was  simply  a  State 
election,  the  members  of  Congress  being  elected  in  the 
spring  of  1857.  The  latter  may  have  felt  that  the  off 
year  did  not  directly  concern  them,  and  that  the  assess 
ment  of  the  State  committee  was  out  of  proportion  to 
their  interest  in  the  campaign.  It  is  possible  also  that 
they  contributed  to  individual  appeals  outside  of  the 


84  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

State  committee,  for,  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee, 
January  3,  I860,  it  was  voted: 

"  That  no  money  shaft  be  credited  to  our  members 
of  Congress  unless  Jthe  same  shall  first  be  sent  to  the 
State  central  committee." 

At  this  same  meeting,  on  motion  of  Anthony  Colby, 
it  was  voted: 

"  That  Mason  W.  Tappan  pay  $100  due  from  him 
on  his  assessment." 

Tappan  undoubtedly  had  as  an  offset  to  this  assess 
ment  his  contributions  to  some  localities  hard  pressed 
for  funds,  as  he  was  always  responsive  to  such  calls. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  State  committee  January  20, 
1859,  a  finance  committee,  consisting  of  Edward  H. 
Eollins,  Joseph  P.  Morse,  of  Portsmouth,  Nehemiah 
G.  Ordway,  of  Concord,  Banbridge  Wadleigh,  of  Mil- 
ford,  Greenleaf  Cummings,  of  Lisbon,  and  George  W. 
Gilman,  of  Meredith,  was  appointed.  At  an  adjourned 
meeting,  they  made  a  report  which  was  accepted.  The 
report  proposed  "  a  basis  of  assessment  for  State  and 
county  officers  not  elected  by  the  people,  excepting  the 
governor,  judges,  attorney-general,  and  past  and  pres 
ent  members  of  Congress  and  candidates  for  the  same." 
It  was  voted  "  to  assess  the  Senators  in  Congress  each 
$150,  and  the  present  Representatives  in  Congress  each 
$100,  and  the  candidates  for  the  same  each  $200."  Tt 
was  also  voted  "  that  the  secretary  be  authorized  and 
instructed  to  write  the  Republican  members  of  the 
bench  and  request  fifty  dollars  each,  also  to  write  Gov- 


POLITICAL    ALLIANCES  85 

ernor  Haile  and  Attorney-General  John  Sullivan  for 
aid,  without  naming  the  amount." 

It  was  voted  "  that  the  matter  of  assessing  the  State 
liquor  agent  at  Boston  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
officers  of  the  committee." 

Voted  "  that  the  matter  of  campaign  newspapers  be 
referred  to  county  committees  with  instructions  to  sub 
scribe  for  as  many  as  they  see  fit  and  to  raise  and  pay 
to  newspapers  all  they  can." 

"  Voted  that  fifty  dollars  be  appropriatd  to  the 
Winnepisseogee  Gazette." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  State  committee  in  February, 
1859,  it  was  voted  to  give  the  town  of  Meredith  an 
order  for  the  assessment  of  Samuel  W.  Eollins.  The 
latter  at  that  time  was  solicitor  for  Belknap  County, 
with  an  annual  salary  of  thirty  dollars.  It  is  probable 
that  his  assessment  was  five  dollars. 

At  another  meeting  of  the  committee  the  same  year, 
on  motion  of  Henry  O.  Kent,  of  Lancaster,  it  was 
voted  "  that  the  assessment  of  officers  be  the  same  as 
last  year,  with  the  exception  of  Ethan  Colby,  of  Cole- 
brook,  and  that  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  be  placed  after 
his  name,  instead  of  five  dollars,  and  that  the  secretary 
inform  the  various  officers  of  the  amount  assessed." 

In  preparing  for  the  spring  campaign  of  1860,  it 
was  voted  "  to  assess  each  member  of  Congress  $200, 
and  that  the  treasurer  draw  from  them  the  sum  of 
$500  for  this  spring's  campaign." 

The  allotment  of  funds  to  the  towns  is  shown  at  one 
of  the  meetings  of  the  committee,  when  it  was  voted 


86  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

"  to  allow  ten  dollars  to  Atkinson,  ten  dollars  to  New 
ton,  and  twenty  dollars  to  Newmarket,  if  there  be 
funds."  Twenty  dollars  was  allotted  to  Brookfield, 
and  it  was  voted  to  allow  William  M.  Weed  twenty-five 
dollars  for  money  expended  by  him  at  Ossipee. 
Twenty-five  dollars  was  allowed  Austin  F.  Pike  for 
Sanbornton.  At  that  time  Sanbornton  was  one  of  the 
large  towns  of  the  State,  and  included  the  present  town 
of  Tilton  in  its  boundaries.  It  was  closely  contested, 
and  the  allotment  made  to  it  indicates  the  measure  of 
help  the  State  committee  gave  to  the  towns. 

The  judges  of  the  court  appear  to  have  responded 
to  their  assessment,  with  the  exception  of  Chief  Justice 
Ira  Perley.  He  wrote  a  vigorous  protest  to  the  call 
made  upon  the  court  for  political  contributions,  but 
commended  the  work  of  the  committee,  and  expressed 
his  deep  interest  in  the  cause.  Whether  he  protested 
to  enforce  a  principle,  and  then  quietly  handed  in  a 
contribution  through  some  third  party,  as  a  later  chief 
justice  of  the  New  Hampshire  court  was  accustomed 
to  do,  is  unknown. 

The  practice  of  having  the  State  committee  prepare 
a  list  of  officers  for  a  coming  State  convention  to 
be  submitted  to  the  convention  for  its  ratification  orig 
inated  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee  held  April  25, 
1860,  to  arrange  for  the  State  convention  which  was 
to  elect  delegates  to  the  Chicago  National  Convention. 
On  motion  of  Henry  O.  Kent,  of  Lancaster,  it  was 
voted  "that  one  from  each  county  be  selected  to  report 
permanent  officers  for  the  convention  to  choose  dele- 


POLITICAL   ALLIANCES  0V 

gates  to  the  Chicago  Convention."  The  report  of  this 
committee  was  accepted,  and  then  it  was  voted  "  that 
the  list  of  officers  proposed  by  the  committee  be  pro 
posed  to  the  convention  by  the  chairman  of  the  State 
committee."  The  object  of  this  innovation  was  to 
save  the  time  of  the  convention  in  perfecting  an  or 
ganization,  and  to  give  opportunity  to  the  presiding 
officer  to  prepare  an  address,  and  to  the  committee  on 
resolutions  to  prepare  a  platform.  This  precedent  has 
been  followed  ever  since,  though  in  later  years  it  de 
volved  upon  the  chairman  of  the  State  committee  and 
the  executive  committee  to  select  some  time  in  advance 
the  presiding  officer  and  committee  on  resolutions. 
Once,  at  least,  in  1898,  the  practice  was  called  in  ques 
tion,  but  the  party  representatives  by  a  large  majority 
decided  to  continue  it. 

The  meetings  of  the  committee  in  these  early  years 
were  held  at  one  of  the  hotels  in  Concord,  and  appear 
to  have  been  almost  wholly  executive  sessions  from 
which  the  public  was  excluded.  The  entire  records 
of  the  secretaries  for  the  years  1858,  1859,  and  1860 
are  contained  in  a  blank  book  of  some  forty  pages. 


CHAPTER    V. 

A    CANDIDATE    FOB    CONGEESS 

THE  call  for  the  Republican  State  Convention  of 
1859  was  signed,  as  heretofore,  by  the  full  State  com 
mittee.  There  was  no  contest  for  the  nomination  for 
governor,  as  the  Republican  leaders  now  considered 
their  party  compact  enough  to  present  that  sterling 
representative  of  the  old  Whig  party,  Ichabod  Good 
win,  of  Portsmouth,  who  had  .been  a  candidate  two 
years  before.  At  the  time  James  Pike,  Mason  W. 
Tappan,  and  Aaron  H.  Cragin  were  renominated  for 
Congress,  in  1857,  it  was  expected  that  they  would  step 
aside  at  the  close  of  their  two  terms  for  new  candidates. 
The  theory  of  rotation  in  office  was  generally  accepted 
by  the  new  party  as  a  governing  principle  in  nomina 
tions,  the  governor  and  most  of  the  members  of  the 
legislature  receiving  but  two  nominations.  But,  when 
the  legislature  of  1858  met,  it  had  to  choose  a  suc 
cessor  to  United  States  Senator  John  P.  Hale.  He 
had  been  elected  in  1855  to  fill  out  a  vacancy  occa 
sioned  by  the  death  of  Charles  G.  Atherton.  Hale  had 
served  one  full  term  from  1847  to  1853,  and,  with  this 
part  of  a  term,  had  had  ten  years  in  the  Senate.  To 
give  him  another  term  would  accord  to  him  greater 
length  of  service  in  the  Senate  than  any  of  his  prede- 

88 


A    CANDIDATE    FOR    CONGRESS  89 

cessors  in  Xew  Hampshire.  The  question  of  rotation, 
therefore,  was  at  once  raised  by  other  candidates  and 
their  friends.  It  was  discussed  in  the  press,  but  the 
standing  of  Hale  before  the  country  and  the  pressure 
from  outside  the  State  for  his  return,  together  with  his 
home  support,  gave  him  an  easy  victory. 

Hale  had  been  in  public  life  since  1834,  when  he 
was  appointed  United  States  District  Attorney  for 
New  Hampshire  by  President  Jackson.  In  1843  he 
was  elected  to  Congress  as  a  Democrat.  Opposing  his 
party  on  the  slavery  question,  he  incurred  its  hostility 
when  a  candidate  for  reelection.  This  break  with  the 
Democratic  leaders  resulted  in  his  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  in  1847,  by  a  coalition  legisla 
ture  opposed  to  the  Democratic  party.  For  several 
years  he  stood  almost  alone  in  the  Senate  in  opposition 
to  slavery.  He  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  in 
1852  by  the  Liberty  party.  In  1865,  at  the  expiration 
of  his  last  term  in  the  Senate,  he  was  appointed  min 
ister  to  Spain.  In  1859,  he  was  one  of  the  most  prom 
inent  Republicans  of  the  country.  A  ready  and  elo 
quent  speaker,  he  was  a  formidable  antagonist  in  de 
bate.  His  joint  discussion  on  the  slavery  question  with 
Franklin  Pierce,  in  the  Old  North  Meeting-house  of 
Concord,  just  after  his  break  with  the  Democratic 
party,  was  an  inspiration  to  the  friends  of  liberty 
throughout  the  State,  and  gave  him  national  promi 
nence.  In  the  Republican  legislative  caucus  of  1859, 
he  was  nominated  by  a  very  large  majority,  the  vote 
being  as  follows :  William  Haile,  1 ;  George  W. 


90  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Nesmith,  4;  Anthony  Colby,  7;  Amos  Tuck,  26; 
Thomas  M.  Edwards,  30;  John  P.  Hale,  127. 

The  Statesman  editorially  expressed  the  belief  that 
Hale's  reelection  was  a  dangerous  precedent  for  the 
Republican  party  to  set,  and  intimated  that  this  action 
of  the  legislature  would  justify  Tappan  and  Cragin  in 
asking  for  a  third  term  in  Congress. 

Soon  after  the  legislature  adjourned  the  canvass 
for  delegates  to  the  three  Republican  Congressional 
conventions  began.  Pike  was  not  a  candidate  for  re- 
nomination  in  the  First  District,  but  both  Tappan  and 
Cragin  sought  renominations  in  the  other  two  districts. 
Rollins  was  a  candidate  in  the  Second  District.  His 
candidacy  was  only  well  under  way  when  the  New 
Hampshire  Patriot  opened  upon  him  with  a  revival  of 
its  old  charge  made  in  the  Speakership  fight  that  he 
had  coerced  the  party  into  retiring  Prentiss  for  him 
self,  coupled  with  the  statement  that  he  and  his  friends 
had  made  overtures  to  John  S.  Wells,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  governor  in  1856,  to  elect  Wells  gov 
ernor  in  return  for  Democratic  support  of  Rollins  for 
Speaker.  That  paper  also  intimated  that  Rollins  had 
no  sympathy  with  the  Republican  party.  The  Inde 
pendent  Democrat,  Fogg's  paper,  made  immediate 
reply,  as  follows: 

"  The  Patriot  of  this"  week  contains  a  mean  and  das 
tardly  article  written  by  John  H.  George  charging 
Edward  H.  Rollins,  of  this  city,  with  having  conspired 
with  the  Hunkers,  in  1856,  to  make  John  S.  Wells 
governor.  The  charge  is  as  false  as  the  coon  skin 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  91 

source,  whence  it  originated,  is  base  and  dastardly. 
This  much  we  say  without  consulting  with  Mr.  Rollins, 
who  is  now  out  of  the  city,  but  who  on  his  return  will, 
we  venture  to  promise,  brand  the  lie  as  it  deserves." 

The  Patriot  returned  to  the  charge  in  its  next  issue, 
exonerating  George  of  any  connection  with  the  article, 
but  declining  to  give  a  bill  of  particulars  on  Fogg's 
simple  denial.  To  this  renewed  attack  Fogg  replied: 

"  The  Patriot  sticks  to  its  whole-cloth  lie  that  E.  H. 
Rollins  conspired  with  the  Hunkers,  in  1856,  to  elect 
John  S.  Wells  governor.  Let  it  stick  to  it.  It  may 
as  well  lie  about  that  as  anything  else.  The  efficient 
service  which  Mr.  Rollins  has  always  rendered  the 
Republican  cause  in  this  State  has  stirred  up  Hunker 
malignity  to  its  lowest  and  foulest  depths.  Hence  this 
lying  charge  of  the  Patriot.  Mr.  Rollins  has  served 
long  enough  and  faithfully  enough  in  the  Republican 
party  to  render  his  political  integrity  secure  from  ques 
tion.  We  herewith  publish  the  remarks  of  the  Man 
chester  American  upon  this  matter.7' 

The  American,  after  reciting  the  charges  of  the 
Patriot,  says :  "  We  are  authorized  to  deny  this  in 
sinuation  in  toto.  It  is  without  the  shadow  of  founda 
tion.  Mr.  Rollins  never  proposed  such  a  bargain,  nor 
was  a  party  to  it,  nor  was  there  any  such  thing.  We 
deem  it  proper  to  say  thus  much  in  relation  to  this 
matter  because  it  has  been  brought  before  the  public. 
We  say  it  in  justice  to  Mr.  Rollins  and  to  the  Repub 
licans  who  were  in  the  legislature  at  the  time,  and  to 
the  Republican  party." 


92  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Referring  to  the  Patriot's  insinuation  that  Rollins 
was  not  at  heart  a  Republican,  the  American  said: 
"  There  is  one  thing  we  desire  to  say  with  the  utmost 
distinctness,  and  that  is  that  after  a  man  has  for  a 
series  of  years  manifested  his  attachment  for  the  party 
and  its  principles,  as  has  Mr.  Rollins,  his  fidelity  is 
not  to  be  questioned.  Mr.  Rollins  has  since  the  year 
1855  acted  in  good  faith  with  the  present  dominant 
party,  and  he  is  entitled  to  the  fullest  confidence  and 
respect  of  the  party.  The  Republican  party  of  this 
State  arose  from  the  ruins  of  the  old  parties,  and  is 
composed  of  men  from  them  all.  It  was  called  into 
existence  by  a  new  and  remarkable  crisis  in  public 
affairs.  Its  history  is  brief.  Now,  who  is  to  be  con 
sidered  only  a  true  Republican  ?  Will  one  man  say 
it  must  be  a  previous  Whig  ?  Another  that  it  must  be 
a  former  Democrat  ?  If  so,  where  are  we  ?  What 
general  criterion  of  integrity  have  we  ?  We  repudiate 
any  such  attempt  at  "scouring  up  antecedents." 

As  the  Manchester  American  made  a  specific  denial 
of  the  Patriot's  charge,  it  is  evident  that  Rollins  was 
at  Manchester  when  the  Patriot  article  was  brought 
to  his  attention,  and  gave  then  and  there  an  authoriza 
tion  for  the  denial.  As  Manchester  had  a  candidate 
for  this  Republican  Congressional  nomination  in  David 
Cross,  the  Americans  tribute  to  Rollins's  party  fealty 
is  all  the  more  emphatic.  The  Patriot  made  no  further 
reference  to  its  charges,  and  the  incident  was  closed 
for  the  campaign.  The  charge  and  denials  both  oc 
curred  several  weeks  before  the  convention  was  held. 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  93 

The  Republican  newspapers  of  Concord  advocated 
editorially  the  claims  of  no  candidate.  The  Nashua 
Telegraph  supported  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua. 
The  Statesman,  however,  gave  space  to  a  communica 
tion  advocating  Rollins's  nomination  as  well  as  space 
to  one  the  following  week  setting  forth  the  claims  of 
George  W.  Nesmith,  of  Franklin. 

The  convention  met  at  Manchester,  January  20, 
1859.  An  informal  ballot  was  first  taken,  which  re 
sulted  as  follows :  Charles  H.  Campbell,  Amherst,  1 ; 
George  W.  Nesmith,  Franklin,  7;  William  H.  Gove, 
Weare,  16;  David  Cross,  Manchester,  29;  Aaron  F. 
Stevens,  Nashua,  34 ;  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord, 
39 ;  Mason  W.  Tappan,  Bradford,  71. 

After  the  announcement  of  the  result  of  this  ballot, 
Rollins,  Cross,  and  Nesmith  withdrew.  A  formal 
ballot  was  then  taken  with  this  result:  Frederick 
Smyth,  1;  David  Cross,  2;  Edward  H.  Rollins,  10; 
Aaron  F.  Stevens,  31 ;  William  II.  Gove,  54 ;  Mason 
W.  Tappan,  99 ;  and  Tappan  was  declared  the  nomi 
nee. 

There  was  a  spirited  contest  in  the  other  two  Con 
gressional  districts.  In  the  first  district,  the  active 
candidates  were  Gilman  Marston,  of  Exeter,  and  Joel 
Eastman,  of  Conway.  The  former  was  nominated  on 
the  second  ballot. 

In  the  third  district,  Thomas  M.  Edwards,  of  Keene, 
was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  having  as  competi 
tors  Aaron  H.  Cragin,  of  Lebanon,  Jacob  Benton,  of 
Lancaster,  and  Levi  Barton,  of  Newport. 


94  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

The  Republican  State  convention  met  January  4, 
1859,  at  Concord.  Napoleon  B.  Bryant,,  of  Concord, 
who  was  Rollins's  successor  as  Speaker  of  the  House, 
was  chosen  president.  Bryant  was  one  of  the  recent 
converts  to  the  Republican  party,  having  been  a  Demo 
crat  up  to  the  Presidential  election  of  1856.  After 
serving  two  years  as  Speaker,  he  went  to  Massachusetts, 
where  he  practised  law  until  his  death.  He  was  a  man 
of  distinguished  appearance  and  an  eloquent  speaker, 
frequently  taking  part  in  New  Hampshire  campaigns. 
His  interest  in  New  Hampshire  continued  through 
life,  his  summer  home  being  in  Andover. 

George  G.  Fogg  reported  the  resolutions,  all  relating 
to  national  affairs.  Although  it  was  certain  that  Icha- 
bod  Goodwin  would  be  the  nominee  for  governor,  a 
ballot  was  taken.  Out  of  373  votes  cast,  Goodwin  re 
ceived  368.  A  great  storm  blocking  roads  and  pre 
venting  travel  occurred  just  before  the  convention, 
which  accounted  for  the  small  attendance. 

The  Patriot,  in  commenting  upon  the  Republican 
ticket  for  governor  and  Congressmen,  said  that  it  was 
made  up  of  old  enemies  of  the  Democratic  party,  all 
Whigs,  no  former  Democrat  being  among  the  number. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  January  6,  1859. 
Asa  P.  Cate,  of  Northfield,  was  renominated  for  gov 
ernor  by  acclamation.  At  the  Democratic  Congres 
sional  conventions,  Daniel  Marcy,  of  Portsmouth,  was 
nominated  in  the  first  district,  John  H.  George,  of 
Concord,  in  the  second,  and  William  Burns,  of  Lan 
caster,  in  the  third. 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  95 

The  campaign  was  most  vigorously  waged  in  the 
second  district,  where  the  Democratic  candidate  im 
mediately  took  the  stump.  He  issued  a  challenge  to 
Tappan,  his  Republican  opponent,  to  meet  him  in 
joint  debate.  Tappan  declined  on  the  ground  that  his 
duties  as  Congressman  required  his  presence  in  Wash 
ington  where  Congress  was  assembled  in  the  short 
session.  Later  George's  challenge  was  taken  up  by 
Charles  C.  Woodman,  of  Boston,  who  was  assisting 
the  Republicans  on  the  stump,  and,  in  a  letter  to 
George,  he  requested  the  opportunity  of  taking  Tap- 
pan's  place.  George  declined  the  request  on  the  ground 
that  Woodman  was  not  a  voter  in  the  district,  or  a 
resident  of  the  State. 

To  no  part  of  the  State  did  Rollins  devote  more  per 
sonal  attention  than  to  the  second  district.  All 
through  the  campaign  he  kept  in  close  touch  with  the 
voters  of  that  district.  Immediately  after  Tappan's 
renomination,  he  gave  to  it  prompt  and  unequivocal 
endorsement.  Tappan  wrote  him  a  most  appreciative 
letter. 

"  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
"  January  28,  1859. 

"  FRIEND  ROLLINS  :  —  I  have  been  intending  for 
some  time  to  drop  you  a  line  for  the  purpose  of  thank 
ing  you  for  the  early  and  cordial  endorsement  you 
gave  the  nomination  made  at  Manchester  on  the  20th. 
I  do  so  now  with  all  my  heart.  I  have  entertained  none 
but  the  kindest  feelings  toward  you  personally,  and 


96  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

have  none  other  now.  I  could  hope  that  nothing  has 
occurred  to  mar  the  friendly  relations  that  have  al 
ways  existed  between  us.  I  endeavored  to  act  honor 
ably  and  frankly  throughout  the  canvass.  Whether 
I  did  so  others  must  judge.  I  trust  the  nomination 
will  prove  for  the  best  and  that  all  will  come  right  in 
the  end.  Let  me  hear  from  you  as  to  the  prospects  and, 
believe  me,  truly  your  friend." 

The  political  rallies  of  the  campaign  of  1859  were 
largely  addressed  by  local  speakers  on  both  sides.  To 
assist  the  Democrats,  Isaac  H.  Wright,  Sydney  Web 
ster,  who  had  been  private  secretary  of  President 
Pierce,  and  B.  F.  Hallett,  of  Boston,  appeared  and 
spoke  in  the  State.  The  Republicans  were  assisted 
in  their  speaking  by  Frank  P.  Blair,  of  Missouri,  Ga- 
lusha  A.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of 
Maine,  John  C.  Underwood,  of  Virginia,  and  M.  J. 
Parrott,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Kansas.  The 
gubernatorial  vote  indicates  the  victory  won  by  the 
Republicans:  Goodwin,  36,326;  Gate,  32,802;  scat 
tering,  27.  All  three  Republican  Congressmen  were 
elected  by  good  majorities,  and  there  was  the  usual 
Republican  majority  in  the  legislature. 

With  a  taste  for  public  life  acquired  by  his  service 
in  the  legislature,  Mr.  Rollins  determined  to  qualify 
himself  for  any  future  honors  which  might  be  con 
ferred  upon  him.  He  was  now  considered  the  corning 
candidate  of  his  party  for  Congress  in  the  second  dis 
trict  when  Mason  W.  Tappan  should  conclude  his  third 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR   CONGRESS  97 

term,  and  there  was  a  reasonable  prospect  that  he  would 
soon  be  transferred  to  the  national  field  of  public  af 
fairs.  While  Rollins  had  been  obliged  to  forego  a  col 
lege  course,  he  continued  his  education  in  leisure 
hours  by  extensive  reading.  He  recognized  that,  if  he 
was  to  take  any  important  part  in  public  life  and  par 
ticipate  in  debates,  he  must  acquire  a  facility  of  ex 
pression  which  comes  only  from  experience.  He  set 
himself  to  work  in  the  hours  that  were  free  from  busi 
ness  cares  to  further  equip  himself. 

Henry  O.  Kent,  who  had  been  clerk  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives  when  Rollins 
was  Speaker,  was  at  this  time  the  editor  of  the  Coos 
Republican,  a  Republican  newspaper  published  at  Lan 
caster.  Kent  was  a  Republican  leader  in  northern  New 
Hampshire,  and  there  existed  between  him  and  Rollins 
an  intimate  friendship  which  continued  through  life. 
Rollins  asked  Kent  for  the  opportunity  to  write  letters 
during  the  campaign  of  1859  and  '60  to  the  latter's 
newspaper,  stating  frankly  his  purpose  in  making  this 
request,  and  soliciting  such  editorial  revision  of  the 
manuscript  as  would  be  most  beneficial  to  himself. 
An  agreement  was  accordingly  made,  and  for  several 
months  the  readers  of  the  Coos  Republican  read  a 
chatty  correspondence  that  dealt  with  politics  and 
social  affairs  at  the  capital.  The  earlier  letters  have 
in  them  something  of  the  crudity  of  expression  of  an 
inexperienced  writer,  but  there  is  a  noticeable  improve 
ment  toward  the  close  of  the  series.  Throughout  them 
all  there  is  a  directness  of  expression  for  which  Rol- 


98  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

lins  was  noted  in  later  life.  In  discussing  politics,  he 
touched  upon  those  features  of  political  affairs  which 
most  readily  caught  the  popular  thought.  There  is 
.even  a  vein  of  humor  running  through  these  letters 
as  the  correspondent  appears  to  have  given  his  imagi 
nation  full  play.  No  one  enjoyed  the  quaint  things  of 
politics  more  than  Rollins,  although  he  was  not  given 
in  later  life  to  humorous  speech.  He  thoroughly  en 
joyed  the  company  of  bright  and  witty  companions, 
relishing  a  good  story,  but  his  own  sense  of  the  ridicu 
lous  he  did  not  cultivate.  These  letters  were  written 
at  the  time  he  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
committee,  and  were  probably  composed  in  the  back 
room  of  his  drug  store,  so  long  the  headquarters  of  the 
party.  They  appear  over  the  signature  of  "  Stark,'' 
and  in  all  political  references  they  show  the  intensity 
of  the  struggle  then  going  on.  The  last  but  one  of 
these  letters  was  written  after  Abraham  Lincoln  had 
made  his  first  speech  in  New  Hampshire,  in  1860. 
This  was  the  first  time  Rollins  had  seen  Lincoln,  and 
his  impressions  of  the  man  to  whom  he  was  ever  after 
ward  ardently  devoted  are  worth  producing.  He  says: 
"  It  is  worth  a  long  walk  to  see  the  man.  He  is 
a  unique  specimen  of  the  human  family.  Long,  lank, 
and  awkward,  he  presents  the  picture  of  a  real  Yankee. 
His  voice  is  pitched  on  a  high  key  and  is  anything  but 
musical,  but  these  oddities  and  peculiarities  which 
would  seem  to  detract  from  the  efficiency  of  an  orator 
all  go  to  gain  the  sympathy  of  his  hearers  and  to  make 
his  speeches  what  they  are.  For  nearly  two  hours  he 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  99 

held  the  house  in  perfect  silence,  while  by  his  in 
vincible  logic,  interspersed  with  the  most  apt  illustra 
tions,  he  showed  the  inconsistency  and  suicidal  position 
of  the  Democracy  with  reference  to  the  slavery  ques 
tion.  His  arguments  were  perfectly  unanswerable. 
His  appeal  to  the  Douglass  Democrats  and  his  charges 
upon  Squatter  Sovereignty  were  irresistible.  I  can 
give  you  no  adequate  description  of  his  speech.  It 
was,  as  our  friends  say,  unquestionably  the  most  can 
did,  convincing,  and  effective  speech  which  we  have 
had  in  Concord  for  years.  If  we  could  have  Mr.  Lin 
coln  address  the  people  of  our  State  for  three  weeks, 
we  should  triumph  by  ten  thousand  majority." 

Although  Rollins  does  not  disclose  his  identity  in 
this  correspondence,  he  is  continually  urging  upon  his 
fellow  Republicans  the  necessity  for  more  perfect  or 
ganization  in  order  to  secure  victory. 

The  call  for  Republican  State  convention  of  1860 
was  signed  by  Rollins  as  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee,  the  first  call  of  the  kind  that  was  signed  solely 
by  the  chairman.  The  convention  met  January  3, 
1860.  Frederick  Smyth,  of  Manchester,  was  elected 
president.  Governor  Goodwin  was  renominated  by  ac 
clamation.  George  G.  Fogg  reported  the  resolutions, 
and  they  all  dealt  with  national  affairs,  except  the  one 
commending  Goodwin's  administration. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  October 
11,  1859.  Walter  Harriman  presided  over  its  delib 
erations.  Asa  P.  Gate,  of  Northfield,  who  had  twice 
been  the  candidate  of  the  party  for  governor,  was  again 


100  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

a  candidate.  James  S.  Cheney,  of  Manchester,  was  also 
presented  to  the  convention  for  the  nomination.  On 
the  first  ballot  there  was  no  choice,  Gate  receiving  102 
votes,  Cheney,  94,  and  28  scattering.  On  the  second 
ballot,  Cate  was  renominated  by  21  majority.  Al 
though  educated  for  the  bar,  Cate  was  not  an  active 
practitioner.  lie  was  rather  an  office  counsellor,  his 
advice  being  sought  by  a  large  clientage.  Few  men 
have  possessed  more  largely  the  confidence  of  the  com 
munity. 

It  was  in  this  campaign  that  Abraham  Lincoln  made 
his  first  appearance  in  ISTew  Hampshire.  He  spoke  at 
Concord,  Manchester,  Dover,  and  Exeter.  His  first 
meeting  was  at  Concord.  At  this  meeting  Rollins  pre 
sided.  All  of  Lincoln's  speeches  made  a  deep  impres 
sion  upon  the  Republicans  of  the  State.  It  was  his  ap 
pearance  in  E"ew  Hampshire  that  gave  him,  in  the 
National  Convention,  on  the  first  ballot,  seven  of  the 
ten  delegates  from  the  State. 

The  March  election  of  1860  was  most  important  as 
bearing  upon  the  Presidential  election  that  year.  A 
week  before  election  Rollins  published  the  result  of  the 
State  committee's  canvass.  It  was  a  novel  experiment, 
never  having  been  done  before  by  the  State  committee 
of  either  party.  Rollins's  canvass  gave  the  Republican 
candidate  for  governor  4,178  majority.  His  actual 
majority  at  the  election  was  4,471. 

The  effect  of  the  New  Plampshire  election  upon  the 
Republicans  of  the  country  is  told  in  a  letter  of  con- 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  101 

gratulation  and  exultation  from  Congressman  Tappan 
to  Rollins. 

"  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
"March  15,  1860. 

"  FRIEND  ROLLINS  :  —  All  hail  New  Hampshire ! 
You  have  done  gloriously  and  our  friends  here  are  in 
high  glee  over  the  result.  My  room  was  crowded 
Tuesday  night,  and  when  my  despatch  from  McFar- 
land  and  Jenks  came  you  better  believe  we  had  a  good 
time.  There  never  was  so  much  interest  felt  here  in 
regard  to  the  result  in  our  State.  You  ought  to  have 
seen  Gil  Marston  stride  across  my  room.  He  is  getting 
very  fanatical  and  must  be  sent  home,  and  a  more  con 
servative  man  sent  in  his  place,  or  the  country  will  be 
ruined. 

"  You  are  getting  a  national  reputation,  and  your 
successful  management  is  frequently  spoken  of  by 
members  from  other  States  in  the  highest  terms  of 
praise.  I  have  named  you  as  just  the  man  to  come 
here  and  take  charge  of  the  Presidential  canvass.  I 
think  Perley  will  suggest  it  in  his  letters  to  the  Boston 
Journal.  Would  you,  or  could  you,  come  if  it  could 
be  brought  about? 

"  I  sent  my  '  Thank  God  '  to  New  Hampshire  over 
the  wires  Tuesday  night.  Did  it  get  there  ?  What  do 
the  Hunkers  say  ?  The  reaction  has  indeed  com 
menced.  I  trust  the  ball  will  roll  on  through 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  Let  me  hear  from 
you." 


102  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Immediately  after  the  election,  Rollins  and  George 
G.  Fogg  went  to  Connecticut  to  participate  in  the  cam 
paign  in  that  State,  its  election  occurring  at  that  time 
the  first  Monday  in  April.  There  was  frequently  an 
exchange  of  talent  in  the  campaigns  of  the  two  States. 
The  election  this  year  in  Connecticut  was  a  hard 
fought  contest,  and  the  Republican  victory  which  fol 
lowed  was  a  fitting  supplement  to  the  Republican  tri 
umph  in  New  Hampshire.  The  Republican  news 
papers  in  Connecticut  were  very  complimentary  of 
Rollins's  efforts  in  that  State. 

Following  closely  the  Connecticut  victory  was  the 
Republican  State  convention  of  New  Hampshire  to 
choose  delegates  to  the  Republican  National  Conven 
tion  to  nominate  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  called  to  meet  at  Chicago,  May  16,  1860. 
Republican  sentiment  wras  divided  in  the  State  over 
candidates  for  the  Presidency.  Fogg  was  inclined  to 
the  renomination  of  Fremont.  In  answer  to  a  corre 
spondent,  he  expressed  the  opinion  in  his  newspaper, 
The  Independent  Democrat,  that,  while  the  politicians 
were  not  for  Fremont,  the  people  were.  In  an  edito 
rial  as  late  as  April  19th,  a  week  before  the  Repub 
lican  State  convention,  he  names  as  Republican  can 
didates  for  the  Presidency  John  C.  Fremont,  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  William  H.  Seward,  Edward  Bates,  and 
John  McLean.  In  his  newspaper  of  April  26th,  he 
gives  the  names  of  those  mentioned  for  the  Chicago 
nomination  in  this  order :  William  H.  Seward,  Salmon 
Chase,  John  C.  Fremont,  John  P.  Hale,  Abraham  Lin- 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR   CONGRESS  103 

coin,  William  P.  Fessenden,  Nathaniel  P.  Banks, 
Simon  Cameron,  Edward  Bates,  John  McLean,  Ben 
jamin  F.  Wade,  and  Henry  Wilson.  This  was  his  first 
mention  of  Lincoln  as  a  candidate.  In  the  same  issue 
of  his  newspaper,  he  quotes  correspondence  of  the  New 
York  Tribune  in  favor  of  Fremont. 

Rollins  from  the  time  of  Lincoln's  first  speech  in 
New  Hampshire  became  a  champion  of  his  nomina 
tion.  In  the  advocacy  of  Lincoln,  he  was  in  accord 
with  Chandler,  Ordway,  Tuck,  and  others.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  commit  the  convention  to  any  candidate, 
but  the  individual  preference  of  the  delegates  chosen 
was  pretty  well  known,  and  the  sentiment  of  the  con 
vention  was  favorable  to  Lincoln  by  a  large  majority. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  April 
26th.  Joel  Eastman,  of  Conway,  was  elected  presi 
dent.  No  platform  was  adopted,  this  work  being  left 
to  the  National  convention.  Only  one  ballot  was  taken 
for  four  delegates  at  large.  This  was  as  follows: 
Austin  F.  Pike,  of  Franklin,  1 ;  Nathaniel  Hubbard, 
of  Tamworth,  1 ;  Lemuel  N.  Pattee,  of  Concord,  64: ; 
David  Steele,  of  Goffstown,  84;  George  M.  Herring, 
of  Farmington,  133 ;  Amos  Tuck,  of  Exeter,  381 ; 
William  Haile,  of  Hinsdale,  385 ;  Aaron  H.  Cragin, 
of  Lebanon,  499 ;  Edward  H.  Rollins,  of  Concord, 
514.  The  last  four  were  declared  elected  delegates. 

The  delegates  from  the  three  Congressional  districts 
were  as  follows:  First  District:  George  Mathewson, 
of  Dover,  and  Nathaniel  Hubbard,  of  Tamworth. 
Second  District:  Benjamin  Martin,  of  Manchester, 


104  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  Francis  H.  Morgan,  of  Francestown.  Third  Dis 
trict  :  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lancaster,  and  Jacob  C.  Bean, 
of  Enfield.  Rollins  was  made  chairman  of  the  delega 
tion. 

On  the  first  ballot  for  President  at  the  Chicago  con 
vention,  New  Hampshire  cast  seven  votes  for  Lincoln, 
one  for  Chase,  one  for  Fremont,  and  one  for  Seward. 
On  the  next  ballot,  ten  votes  of  New  Hampshire  were 
given  for  Lincoln.  The  latter  was  especially  gratified 
with  the  support  he  received  from  this  State.  With 
the  exception  of  Tuck,  who  had  been  in  Congress  with 
him,  Lincoln  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
Republican  leaders  of  the  State  until  the  spring  cam 
paign  of  1860.  While  he  had  made  a  deep  impression 
by  his  speeches  in  that  campaign  upon  the  Republicans 
of  the  State,  he  had  little  reason  to  look  for  their  sup 
port  on  the  first  ballot.  New  Hampshire  was  the 
birthplace  of  Chase,  and  it  was  natural  to  suppose  that 
her  delegates  would  at  least  compliment  him  with  their 
votes.  Chase  himself  expected  their  support.  Then 
there  was,  as  Fogg  had  said,  "  a  lingering  affection 
in  the  State  for  Fremont,"  the  first  candidate  of  the 
party,  while  Seward,  as  the  most  conspicuous  and  best 
known  of  the  candidates,  was  likely  to  be  preferred 
before  Lincoln.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Rolling's  en 
thusiasm  for  Lincoln  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  the 
course  of  the  New  Hampshire  delegation.  Lincoln's 
appreciation  of  the  help  of  New  Hampshire  in  secur 
ing  his  nomination  was  shown  all  through  his  life,  and 
his  relations  with  the  Republican  leaders  of  the  State 


A    CANDIDATE   FOR    CONGRESS  105 

were  always  cordial,  and  with  Rollins,  Ordway,  and 
Tuck  most  intimate. 

Fogg  was  continued  as  a  member  of  the  National 
Committee,  and  made  a  member  of  the  executive  com 
mittee.  He  was  also  chosen  secretary.  Rollins,  as 
chairman  of  the  delegation,  was  on  a  committee  to 
notify  the  candidates,  and  Fogg  accompanied  the  noti 
fication  committee  on  their  trip. 

With  the  return  of  Rollins  and  Fogg  to  Concord 
a  great  ratification  meeting  was  held  at  the  capital, 
at  which  Rollins  spoke  for  an  hour,  giving  a  graphic 
account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  convention.  He  was 
followed  by  Fogg  in  a  similar  vein  of  speech. 

There  was  no  doubt  of  the  result  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  but  Rollins's  conduct  of  the  campaign  was  as 
earnest  as  though  the  result  depended  upon  getting 
out  every  vote.  Quite  a  number  of  the  prominent  Re 
publicans  of  the  country  participated  in  the  New 
Hampshire  canvass.  These  were  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
of  Ohio,  Frank  P.  Blair,  of  Missouri,  Nathaniel  P. 
Banks,  Anson  S.  Burlingame,  and  Henry  Wilson,  of 
Massachusetts,  Charles  H.  Van  Wyck,  of  New  York, 
and  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  of  Pennsylvania.  Other 
speakers  from  outside  the  State  were  Israel  Washburn, 
C.  J.  Oilman,  and  C.  W.  Walton,  of  Maine,  Charles 
A.  Phelps,  of  Boston,  and  E.  D.  Culver,  of  New  York. 
Rollins  presided  at  a  great  meeting  at  Concord,  Oc 
tober  6th,  at  which  Curtin  and  Burlingame  spoke.  The 
meeting  was  followed  by  a  large  torchlight  procession 
in  the  evening. 


106  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

In  a  circular  issued  to  the  Republicans  of  New 
Hampshire  by  Rollins,  October  29th,  he  gives  a  canvass 
of  the  voters.  From  this  he  figures  a  plurality  of 
6,400  for  Lincoln  and  a  majority  of  5,572.  In  com 
menting  upon  the  returns  to  the  State  committee, 
Rollins  says :  "  The  committee  is  well  aware  of  the 
difficulties  attending  an  accurate  canvass  of  the  legal 
voters  of  the  State  at  this  time,  owing  to  the  uncer 
tain  position  of  many  Democrats,  and,  therefore,  will 
not  be  at  all  surprised,  nor  will  their  confidence  in 
the  ability  of  the  working  men  of  the  party  to  cor 
rectly  canvass  be  in  the  least  degree  diminished,  if  the 
actual  Republican  majority  far  exceeds  the  above  fig 
ures." 

In  this  same  circular,  which  was  written  after  the 
October  elections  had  forecast  the  choice  of  Lincoln 
for  President,  Rollins  said: 

"  The  condition  of  political  affairs  in  New  Llamp- 
shire  is  such  that  it  should  render  us  as  energetic  in 
this  campaign  as  in  any  of  our  earlier  conflicts.  In 
no  State  has  proslavery  Democracy  waged  a  more  des 
perate  warfare  or  struggled  harder  to  regain  lost  posi 
tion.  Nowhere  have  they  remained  better  united  or 
more  formidable  as  a  party,  and  in  some  form  the 
elements  of  opposition  will  be  united  in  future  State 
contests.  Now  is  the  time,  in  the  flood  tide  of  our 
fortune,  to  make  our  majority  so  strong  as  to  render 
opposition  powerless  for  years  to  come.  Now  is  the 
time  to  carry  for  the  Republican  cause  towns  that  have 
been  heretofore  with  the  opposition,  and  to  acquire  in 


A    CANDIDATE    FOR    CONGRESS  107 

those  towns  a  firm  and  enduring  majority.  Let  it  be 
the  immediate  duty  of  the  Kepublicans  of  this  State 
to  obtain  such  a  majority  for  Lincoln  and  Hamlin 
that  beyond  a  doubt  through  all  the  coming  administra 
tion  New  Hampshire,  by  the  assistance  of  all  its  mem 
bers  of  Congress  and  by  the  moral  support  of  Repub 
lican  officers  in  every  branch  of  its  government,  will 
sustain  the  measures  of  that  President  whom  it  has 
labored  so  zealously  to  elect." 

The  actual  vote  of  the  State  was  as  follows :  Lin 
coln,  37,519;  Douglas,  25,881;  Bell,  4,441;  Breck- 
enridge,  2,112.  Lincoln's  plurality  over  Douglas  was 
11,639.  His  majority  over  all  was  5,145. 


CHAPTEK    VI. 

ELECTION    TO    CONGKESS 

THE  Democrats  began  the  spring  campaign  of  1861 
immediately  after  the  Presidential  election  of  1860. 
Complete  returns  of  that  election  had  not  been  received 
before  they  were  holding  conventions  to  nominate  can 
didates  for  Congress  in  the  first  and  second  districts. 
November  13,  I860,  Daniel  Marcy  and  John  H. 
George  were  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  Congress, 
the  former  by  acclamation  in  the  first  district,  and  the 
latter  by  ballot  in  the  second  district.  A  faction  of 
the  party  which  had  supported  Breckenridge  in  the 
Presidential  election  held  conventions  and  nominated 
B.  W.  Jenness  for  governor,  Robert  Morrison  and  Paul 
R.  George  for  Congress  in  the  first  and  second  dis 
tricts  respectively.  Later  in  the  campaign,  these  can 
didates  of  the  Breckenridge  wing  withdrew,  and  their 
followers  were  advised  to  support  the  regular  Demo 
cratic  nominees.  In  the  third  Congressional  district, 
William  Burns,  of  Lancaster,  was  renominated  by  the 
Democrats. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  Janu 
ary  8,  1861.  Ira  A.  Eastman,  of  Concord,  presided. 

108 


ELECTION    TO   CONGRESS  109 

The  contest  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  was  be 
tween  George  Stark,  of  Nashua,  and  Edward  W.  Har 
rington,  of  Manchester,  the  former  winning  by  a  vote 
of  311  to  177,  with  seven  scattering  votes. 

The  Republican  State  convention  met  the  same  day, 
and  was  presided  over  by  Samuel  Upton,  of  Man 
chester.  Governor  Goodwin,  who  had  been  twice 
elected,  had  considerable  support  for  a  third  nomina 
tion,  while  Nathaniel  S.  Berry,  of  Hebron,  Joel  East 
man,  of  Conway,  Lemuel  N.  Pattee,  of  Antrim,  and 
Levi  Chamberlain,  of  Keene,  were  active  candidates. 
Two  ballots  were  taken,  and  on  the  second  Mr.  Berry 
was  nominated. 

The  nomination  of  Berry,  who  had  left  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  become  a  Eree-soiler,  and  who  had  been 
the  Free-soil  candidate  for  governor  from  1846  to  1850 
inclusive,  was  particularly  distasteful  to  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  The  Patriot  was  especially  vehement 
in  its  attacks  upon  him. 

The  greatest  interest,  however,  centred  in  the  Re 
publican  nomination  for  Congress  in  the  second  dis 
trict.  The  candidates  were  Edward  H.  Rollins,  David 
Cross,  of  Manchester,  and  Aaron  3j\  Stevens,  of 
Nashua.  The  canvass  for  delegates  was  an  earnest 
one.  All  three  were  leading  Republicans  active  in 
the  service  of  the  party,  and  all  had  devoted  supporters. 
Rollins  undoubtedly  profited  by  the  fact  that  Hills- 
borough  County  was  divided  in  its  support  between  two 
candidates,  while  he  had  his  own  county  of  Merrimack 
practically  solid  in  his  interest.  The  convention  was 


110  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

held  at  Manchester  in  January.  A  large  number  of 
the  prominent  Eepublicans  of  the  district  were  dele 
gates  to  this  convention,  many  of  them  young  men  just 
coming  upon  the  political  stage. 

It  was  a  very  strong  convention.  The  reader  fa 
miliar  with  New  Hampshire  politics  for  the  generation 
following  Lincoln's  first  election  would  recognize  the 
names  of  a  large  number  who  became  prominent  in 
State  and  national  affairs.  The  convention  contained 
many  of  Rollins's  friends,  men  who  were  attached  to 
his  ambitions  and  interests  while  he  remained  active 
in  politics.  Of  these  none  was  more  devoted  than 
Richard  N".  Batchelder,  of  Manchester.  Starting  in  a 
business  career,  Batchelder  early  became  interested 
in  politics.  He  was  at  one  time  a  leader  among 
Manchester  Republicans.  On  purely  political  grounds, 
he  favored  Rollins's  nomination  rather  than  that  of 
one  of  his  own  townsmen,  and  to  Batchelder's  individ 
ual  efforts  and  influence  Rollins  was  indebted  in  a 
large  degree  for  his  nomination.  From  this  time  for 
ward  Batchelder  became  Rollins's  most  intimate  and 
trusted  friend.  Batchelder's  public  career  was  an 
honor  to  himself  and  a  credit  to  his  State.  On  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  he  enlisted  in  the  First 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  rising  rapidly  in  rank 
until  he  became  Chief  Quartermaster  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  a  position  he  held  during  the  last  year 
of  the  war.  With  the  return  of  peace,  he  was  com 
missioned  in  the  regular  army.  In  1890,  he  was  ap 
pointed  Quartermaster  General  by  President  Harrison, 


ELECTION    TO   CONGRESS  111 

being  promoted  over  the  heads  of  six  of  his  seniors  on 
his  military  record.  Batchelder  was  one  of  the  great 
men  of  ~New  Hampshire.  His  interest  in  public  af 
fairs  continued  unabated  to  his  death.  His  counsel 
was  sought  by  all  the  leading  men  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  his  silent  influence  was  felt  on  many  an  occasion 
where  the  interests  of  his  native  State  were  at  issue. 
In  executive  ability  and  equipment  he  could  have  con 
ducted  any  department  of  the  federal  government,  yet 
his  modesty  was  as  pronounced  as  his  ability. 

Immediately  after  organization  with  George  G. 
Fogg  as  president,  the  convention  proceeded  to  ballot 
for  a  candidate  for  Congress.  Five  ballots 1  were 
necessary  to  secure  a  choice,  Rollins  slowly  gaining, 
but  Cross  and  Stevens  holding  their  support  until  the 
last  ballot.  The  convention  was  harmonious  through 
out,  and  at  the  close  of  the  balloting  Rollins' s  nomina 
tion  was  made  unanimous. 

The  day  following  his  nomination  the  Statesman 
pays  Rollins  this  tribute: 

"  The  gentleman  whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  and  whom  the  people  of  this  district,  in 
this  grave  juncture  in  public  affairs,  have  honored 
with  a  seat  in  the  National  Councils,  was  born  in  1824 

1  CANDIDATES  1st  2d  3d  4tll         5th 

Mason  W.  Tappan,  of  Bradford                  1  5  13 

Austin  F.  Pike,  of  Franklin          .  .       3 

William  H.  Gove,  of  Weare  .      4  2 

David  Cross,  of  Manchester          .  .45  42        48        52  38 

Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua        .  .62  66        59        49  37 

Edward  R.  Rollins,  of  Concord    .  .86  92        94        95  108 


112  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

in  that  section  of  Somersworth  which  is  now  embraced 
in  the  town  of  Rollinsford,  and  is  consequently  thirty- 
seven  years  of  age.  ...  In  the  years  1850  and  '51  he 
was  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Whig  State 
committee,  and  when  the  American  party  was  initiated 
in  this  State,  in  1855,  he  early,  and  with  all  his  polit 
ical  forecast  and  ardor,  enlisted  in  that  organization. 
He  was  the  second  official  in  rank  in  that  association, 
and,  by  his  ceaseless  and  truly  marvellous  activity  in 
that  position,  actually  saved  the  State  from  the  slough 
of  Hunkerism  in  1856.  And  when,  in  that  year,  as 
an  inevitable  result  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  and  of  the  consequent  opening  of  the 
flood-gates  of  agitation,  old  party  landmarks  were 
obliterated,  Mr.  Rollins  was  one  of  the  most  active  and 
efficient  leaders  in  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party,  which  grew  out  of  that  commotion,  and  was  at 
once  raised  to  the  head  of  its  State  committee  by  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  far-sighted,  energetic  spirits 
who  headed  the  grand  movement;  a  position  which  he 
has  continued,  by  the  same  unanimity  of  expression, 
and  with  the  most  conspicuous  ability,  to  occupy  down 
to  the  present  period.  At  the  head  of  this  committee 
he  devised  and  put  into  practical  operation  that  rigid 
and  accurate  system  of  canvassing  which  has  been  a 
fortress  around  the  Republican  organization ;  which 
has,  again  and  again,  been  in  the  most  nattering  terms 
commended  as  a  model  scheme  by  the  leading  presses 
throughout  the  country,  and  has  been  the  wonder  and 


ELECTION    TO   CONGRESS  113 

admiration  of  leading  political  managers  in  Washing 
ton. 

"  In  1855  he  was  elected  to  the  popular  branch  of 
the  legislature  from  the  most  populous  ward  in  this 
city,  and  returned  to  that  position  in  1856  and  1857, 
by  increased  majorities,  in  both  of  which  last  men 
tioned  years  he  was  Speaker  of  that  body.  He  dis 
charged  the  duties  of  the  presiding  officer  with  eminent 
acceptance,  and  the  journals  of  that  assembly  for  those 
years  are  conclusive  evidence  of  the  expeditious  man 
ner  in  which  business  was  transacted  under  his  direc 
tion. 

"  In  1859,  his  name  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
before  the  convention  as  a  candidate  for  Congress ; 
but  when  the  harmony  and  efficiency  of  the  party 
seemed  to  demand  it,  he  promptly  and  cordially  with 
drew  his  name  from  the  canvass,  that  Mason  W.  Tap- 
pan,  whose  Congressional  career  has  shed  lustre  upon 
the  whole  State,  might  be  returned  for  his  third  term. 

"  Few  men  in  New  Hampshire  have  done  so  much, 
and  no  man  has  done  more,  for  the  organized  strength 
and  vigor,  and  for  the  complete,  unwavering  triumphs 
of  the  Republican  party  in  this  State,  than  Edward 
H.  Rollins,  and  he  has  never  failed  in  the  full  and 
efficient  discharge  of  every  public  duty  and  trust 
hitherto  confided  to  his  care.  With  the  impulses  of 
an  exalted  ambition,  it  is  known  that  he  has  for  years 
made  political  economy  and  the  general  philosophy  of 
government  a  subject  of  careful  study.  He  has  a 
familiar  knowledge  of  the  legislative  history  and  pol- 


114  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

icy  of  the  government,  and  no  man  better  than  he 
understands  the  political  convictions  and  wants  of  the 
people  whom  he  is  called  to  represent." 

The  New  Hampshire  Patriot  in  commenting  upon 
Rollins's  nomination  said :  "  Mr.  Rollins  was  the  can 
didate  of  the  '  Yield  not  an  inch  '  section  of  his  party, 
that  portion  who,  having  forced  their  party  into  the 
extreme  position  and  the  adoption  of  the  ultra  doc 
trines  which  have  brought  the  Union  to  the  brink  of 
ruin,  and  the  country  to  the  imminent  danger  of  civil 
war,  are  now  laboring  to  prevent  -a  settlement  of  the 
difficulties,  and  declaring  that  they  will  make  no  con 
cessions  to  avert  the  calamities  impending  over  their 
heads.  This  is  Mr.  Rollins's  position,  and  to  support 
him  is  to  endorse  this  ground  and  to  aid  in  bringing 
upon  the  country  the  untold  calamities  which  must 
follow  its  adoption." 

The  Independent  Democrat,  George  G.  Fogg's  news 
paper,  said: 

"  Considering  the  animated  contest  for  delegates 
which  preceded  the  convention,  its  proceedings  were 
remarkably  free  from  anything  like  ill  feeling.  Sev 
eral  ballots  were  required  to  make  the  nomination, 
but,  when  made  by  a  majority  vote,  the  friends  of  the 
other  candidates  came  promptly  forward  and  moved 
to  make  it  unanimous.  This  was  done  with  a  will,  and, 
after  short  and  eloquent  speeches  by  Mr.  Rollins  and 
Judge  Cross,  the  convention  adjourned.  Of  the  can 
didate  selected  we  need  say  but  little,  lie  is  known 
to  nearly  every  prominent  Republican  in  the  district. 


ELECTION    TO   CONGRESS  115 

Having  held  the  position  of  chairman  of  the  Republi- 
can  State  committee  ever  since  the  organization  of  the 
party,  he  has  had  opportunity  to  show  his  devotion  to 
Eepublican  principles.  How  he  has  improved  that 
opportunity  the  efficient  and  almost  perfect  organiza 
tion  of  the  party  sufficiently  attest.  We  have  had 
peculiar  advantages  for  understanding  the  nature  and 
extent  of  his  sendees  and  the  thorough  business  man 
ner  in  which  he  has  discharged  all  the  duties  of  his 
difficult  and  responsible  position.  Without  participat 
ing  actively  in  the  canvass  which  has  resulted  in  his 
nomination,  it  gives  us  pleasure  to  endorse  him  as  em 
inently  deserving  the  support  of  every  Republican  of 
the  district.  Possessed  of  indomitable  energy,  em 
inent  practicable  ability,  and  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  politics  of  the  country  and  hearty  devotion 
to  the  purposes  and  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
we  predict  that  the  people  of  this  Congressional  dis 
trict  will  find  in  him  a  representative  thoroughly  faith 
ful  to  their  interests  and  principles  and  at  all  times 
ready  and  able  to  defend  them." 

The  Republican  majority  in  New  Hampshire  at  the 
Presidential  election  of  1860  was  so  large  that  the 
Democrats  had  little  hope  of  redeeming  the  State. 
Yet  they  made  great  efforts  to  unite  their  party  and 
were  not  without  expectations  of  defeating  Rollins  for 
Congress.  His  nomination  had  not  been  secured  with 
out  disappointment  to  other  aspirants  and  their 
friends.  All  of  Rollins's  competitors  for  the  nomina 
tion  were  lawyers,  and  the  triumph  of  a  merchant  over 


116  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

members  of  the  bar  caused  no  little  chagrin  to  these 
men.  This  feeling  was  fostered  by  the  Democratic 
press  in  their  efforts  to  compass  Rollins's  defeat. 
His  preeminennce  in  the  party  had  been  largely  ac 
quired  through  his  successful  leadership  in  political 
campaigns,  and  the  Democrats  made  it  their  policy  to 
sow  seeds  of  discontent  by  belittling  Rollins' s  equip 
ment  for  public  life.  Their  efforts  in  this  direction 
were  not  without  effect  in  his  subsequent  career,  when 
he  had  as  competitors  for  the  United  States  Senate 
men  eminent  in  the  legal  profession  who  had  served 
like  himself  in  Congress.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
that  Oilman  Marston,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  Mason  W. 
Tappan,  and  other  distinguished  members  of  the  bar, 
conscious  of  their  own  fitness  and  training  for  public 
life,  should  look  askance  at  the  promotion  of  a  mer 
chant  to  the  highest  honors  of  the  State.  The  Demo 
crats  never  allowed  this  feeling  to  slumber.  In  their 
view,  to  defeat  Rollins's  ambition  was  to  eliminate 
him  from  the  management  of  political  campaigns.  If 
defeated  and  disappointed  he  retired  from  political 
life,  they  expected  to  recover  their  control  of  the  State. 
Having  centred  their  attack  upon  the  second  Con 
gressional  district,  the  Democrats  sought  to  strengthen 
themselves  by  a  change  of  candidates.  The  all-absorb 
ing  issue  at  this  time  was  the  preservation  of  the  fed 
eral  Union.  Several  Southern  States  had  already  se 
ceded,  and  others  were  sure  to  follow.  Lincoln  would 
not  be  inaugurated  President  until  within  a  few  days 
of  the  State  election  in  New  Hampshire.  There  was 


ELECTION   TO   CONGRESS 

every  indication  that  he  would  be  President  of  a 
divided  country.  Both  political  parties  in  Kew  Hamp 
shire  proclaimed  their  love  for  the  Union,  but  they 
differed  widely  in  their  views  of  how  its  integrity 
should  be  preserved.  The  Democratic  candidate  for 
Congress  in  the  second  district,  John  H.  George,  was 
a  pronounced  State  rights  Democrat.  Some  other 
Democrat  of  less  pronounced  views,  the  Democratic 
leaders  thought,  would  receive  more  votes.  In  this 
view  George  coincided,  and,  in  a  open  letter,  withdrew 
as  a  candidate.  The  Democratic  convention  was  reas 
sembled,  and  without  dissent  Samuel  D.  Bell,  of  Man 
chester,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
State,  was  nominated.  Bell  had  been  a  Whig  until  the 
annexation  of  Texas.  He  then  identified  himself  with 
the  Democratic  party,  but  at  no  time  had  been  active 
in  politics.  He  was  a  man  of  large  legal  and  literary 
attainments.  He  had  been  appointed  to  the  bench  by 
the  Democrats  in  1849,  and  was  not  displaced  when  the 
Republican  party  came  into  power  and  reorganized 
the  courts.  His  appointment  as  chief  justice  was  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  eminent  fitness  for  the  posi 
tion. 

Judge  Bell  was  nominated  upon  no  platform,  but 
put  forward  by  the  Democrats  as  an  independent  can 
didate  who  would  subordinate  party  to  the  salvation 
of  the  Union.  He  did  not  resign  from  the  bench,  and 
took  no  active  part  in  the  campaign.  Paul  R.  George, 
the  candidate  for  Congress  of  the  Breckenridge  Demo 
crats,  immediately  withdrew  and  advised  his  sup- 


118  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

porters  to  vote  for  Bell.  The  whole  interest  in  the 
campaign  now  centred  in  this  Congressional  district. 
Few  speakers  from  other  States  were  brought  into 
New  Hampshire  by  either  party,  nor  was  there  a 
large  number  of  political  rallies.  Rollins,  besides 
conducting  the  campaign  as  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee,  spoke  in  various  towns  of  his  district.  He  had 
acquired  the  art  of  speech-making,  and  had  become  an 
earnest  and  forceful  campaign  speaker.  The  Inde 
pendent  Democrat,  referring  to  his  speech  at  Nashua 
in  this  campaign,  said :  "  Mr.  Rollins  spoke  for  two 
hours.  Yet  the  gratified  audience  hung  untired  upon 
his  words,  and  called  earnestly  for  more."  The  time 
occupied  by  speakers  in  those  days  testifies  to  the  in 
tensity  of  interest  in  political  issues.  At  a  rally  held 
at  Warner,  addressed  by  Rollins,  Allen  Tenny,  and 
Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  Rollins  is  credited  in  one  news 
paper  as  speaking  for  two  hours,  and  in  another  as 
speaking  for  three  hours.  John  H.  George,  in  writ 
ing  to  the  Democratic  State  committee  of  one  of  his 
meetings  in  this  campaign,  said  that  he  held  his  audi 
ence  for  three  hours  and  a  half,  and  reports  of  other 
rallies  refer  frequently  to  speeches  of  from  two  to 
three  hours  in  length. 

Rollins's  style  of  stump-speaking  was  always  a  chal 
lenge  to  his  political  opponents.  He  never  spared  the 
shortcomings  of  the  Democratic  party.  If  his  speeches 
were  not  calculated  to  win  converts,  they  roused  the 
enthusiasm  of  Republicans  to  the  highest  pitch.  A 
thorough  master  of  details,  Rollins  was  at  his  best  when 


ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  119 

any  of  his  statements  were  questioned  by  his  audience, 
and  interruptions  at  his  meetings  were  of  frequent 
occurrence.  His  preparation  of  speeches  was  by  topics, 
with  plenty  of  data  for  reference.  He  wrote  out  no 
speeches  beforehand,  and,  therefore,  had  no  set  speech 
to  deliver.  An  interruption  or  a  question  from  the 
audience  wras  likely  to  develop  an  entirely  different 
speech  from  the  one  he  intended  to  make.  He  threw 
down  the  gauntlet  to  the  Democratic  party  at  the  open 
ing  of  every  meeting,  and,  if  it  was  picked  up  by  any 
one  present,  he  was  ready  to  both  defend  and  further 
attack.  His  speeches  stirred  Republicans  to  renewed 
activity  while  they  exasperated  Democrats.  He  in 
variably  closed  with  predictions  of  victory  in  the  State. 
The  verification  of  his  canvasses  gave  to  his  predic 
tions  the  stamp  of  prophecy,  and,  however  angered  his 
opponents  might  be  at  his  speeches,  they  left  the  meet 
ing  with  the  depression  which  comes  of  the  feeling  that 
the  fight  is  hopeless.  Rollins  understood  this  as  well  as 
any  one,  and  his  attendance  at  a  political  rally  in  a 
debatable  town  was  a  source  of  strength  to  his  party. 

The  returns  on  election  night  showed  the  Republi 
can  victory  to  be  complete.  The  vote  for  governor  was 
as  follows : 

Scattering,  24;  George  Stark,  Democrat,  31,452; 
Nathaniel  S.  Berry,  Republican,  35,467.  The  Re 
publicans  had  a  majority  of  the  legislature,  and  elected 
all  three  Congressmen,  Rollins's  majority  being  about 
•nine  hundred. 

When  the  legislature  organized  the  following  June, 


120  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Edward  Ashton  Rollins,  a  cousin  of  Edward  H.  Rol 
lins  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House.  These  two 
cousins  were  sometimes  confounded  in  public  life, 
owing  to  the  similarity  of  their  names.  Ashton  Rol 
lins,  after  serving  two  terms  as  Speaker,  was  appointed 
Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue,  a  position  he  held 
until  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged  in 
business,  becoming  president  of  the  Centennial  Na 
tional  Bank  of  that  city.  His  interest  in  his  native 
State  continued  through  life.  One  of  his  public  gifts 
to  New  Hampshire  is  the  handsome  chapel  at  Dart 
mouth  College. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

IN    THE    THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS 

THE  thirty-seventh  Congress  was  called  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  in  extra  session  to  meet  July  4,  1861. 
Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  on  by  the  Confederates, 
and  war  between  the  States  was  actually  begun.  Con 
gress  was  called  upon  to  provide  ways  and  means  for 
subduing  the  insurgent  States,  and  had  to  face  many 
new  problems.  Rollins  met  as  associates  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  a  number  of  men,  some  of  them  new 
members  like  himself,  who  were  to  play  a  prominent 
part  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  country.  Of  this 
number  were  Justin  S.  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  Henry 
L.  Dawes,  of  Massachusetts,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Reuben 
E.  Fenton,  William  A.  Wheeler,  and  Charles  H.  Van 
Wyck,  of  New  York,  William  D.  Kelley,  Thaddeus 
Stephens,  Galusha  A.  Grow  (Speaker),  and  John  Co- 
vode,  of  Pennsylvania,  George  H.  Pendleton,  Clement 
L.  Vallandingham,  Samuel  S.  Cox,  John  A.  Bingham, 
and  James  M.  Ashley,  of  Ohio,  William  S.  Holman, 
George  W.  Julian,  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  and  Schuyler 
Coif  ax,  of  Indiana,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Owen  J. 
Love  joy,  and  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois,  Aaron  A. 

121 


122  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Sargent,  of  California,  and  William  Windom,  of  Min 
nesota.  Rollins  afterward  served  in  the  Senate  with 
Morrill,  Dawes,  Conkling,  Van  Wyck  (then  of  Ne 
braska),  Pendleton,  ^7oorhees,  Logan,  Sargent,  and 
Windom,  with  William  A.  Wheeler  presiding  over 
the  Senate  as  Vice-President,  from  March  4,  1877,  to 
March  4,  1881. 

Of  the  New  Hampshire  delegation,  Gilman  Marston 
and  Thomas  M.  Edwards  were  serving  their  second 
term.  In  the  committee  assignments,  Marston  was  put 
on  the  committee  of  military  affairs,  and  Edwards  on 
Indian  affairs  and  public  expenditures.  Rollins's  as 
signments  were  the  committees  on  District  of  Columbia 
and  accounts.  Roscoe  Conkling  wras  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia.  Erom  this 
association  with  Conkling  sprang  up  an  admiration 
for  the  Senator  from  New  York  which  Rollins  enter 
tained  through  life. 

The  extra  session  lasted  until  August  6th.  Rollins's 
activity  was  confined  to  committee  work  during  this 
session.  The  most  important  measure  which  he  intro 
duced,  and  afterward  championed  before  the  commit 
tee,  was  one  to  "  repeal  certain  laws  and  ordinances  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  relative  to  persons  of  color." 
This  measure,  which  had  for  its  object  the  ameliora 
tion  of  the  condition  of  the  negroes  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  was  referred  to  the  district  committee  of  the 
House,  and  subsequently  was  reported  favorably  by 
Rollins.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  securing  its  im 
mediate  passage. 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       123 

It  was  while  Congress  was  in  extra  session  that  the 
first  battle  of  Bull  Run  occurred.  The  troops  called 
for  by  the  President's  proclamation  were  assembling  in 
Washington ;  the  North  was  impatiently  demanding 
an  advance  on  Richmond,  which  demand  was  being 
persistently  urged  by  their  representatives  in  Congress. 
General  Scott,  the  commander  -  in  -  chief,  protested 
against  such  a  movement  with  undisciplined  troops  as 
hazardous.  Civilian  advice,  however,  prevailed  over 
military  protest,  and  an  advance  of  the  Union  forces 
was  ordered.  Many  Congressmen  and  Senators  ob 
tained  passes  to  ride  in  the  rear  of  the  army  and  wit 
ness  the  conflict,  which  was  sure  to  occur  when  the 
Union  forces  met  those  of  the  Confederates.  Rollins 
was  among  the  number  who  went  to  the  battle-field. 
He  barely  escaped  capture  after  the  battle.  Writing 
his  wife,  he  thus  describes  his  experience : 

"  MY  DEAR  ELLEN  :  —  On  my  return  from  the  bat 
tle-field  this  morning,  I  find  your  interesting  letter. 
I  was  glad  to  hear  from  you  all  at  home.  It  made  me 
sad,  however,  to  read  it,  particularly  that  part  where 
you  allude  to  the  lost  one  and  Edward's  mourning  so 
for  him.  It  is  a  great  loss  for  us  all,  and  we  must  long 
mourn  his  early  departure.  I  could  not  keep  back  the 
tears,  but  perhaps  I  was  the  more  sad,  for  I  had  just 
witnessed  the  retreat  of  our  troops. 

"  Senator  Lane,  of  Indiana,  George  Marston,  and  I, 
with  single  carriage  and  one  saddle-horse,  left  the  city 
Saturday  afternoon  for  the  seat  of  war.  I  mounted 


124  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  horse  and  we  proceeded  as  far  as  Fairfax  Court 
house,  seventeen  miles,  the  same  evening,  and  spent 
the  night  with  a  secessionist,  who  gave  us  some  supper 
and  good  beds.  This  is  the  town  from  which  our 
forces  drove  the  Confederates  a  few  days  since.  Early 
the  next  morning  we  went  on  to  Centreville,  nine 
miles  beyond.  When  we  reached  this  point,  we  found 
the  troops  had  been  in  motion  for  hours.  We  took  our 
position  on  the  high  ground,  where  we  saw  the  move 
ments  of  the  troops  in  the  valley  below  as  they 
marched  to  make  the  attack  upon  the  enemy's  lines. 
The  attack  began  about  10.30  A.  M.,  after  a  march  of 
about  ten  miles.  Our  soldiers  had  been  under  arms 
for  hours,  and  some  of  them,  including  our  regiment, 
had  gone  without  breakfast.  Where  we  stood,  we 
could  have  a  pretty  good  view  of  the  scene  of  action, 
but  trees  prevented  us  from  seeing  the  troops.  We 
could  see  the  smoke  and  hear  the  sharp  crack  of  the 
rifle  and  musket  and  the  roar  of  the  cannon.  It  was 
very  exciting,  I  can  assure  you,  and  we  remained  there 
watching  the  progress  of  the  battle  until  about  four 
p.  M.  All  the  early  part  of  the  fight,  and,  in  fact,  until 
about  four  in  the  afternoon,  our  people  had  the  best 
of  it  and  were  driving  the  Confederates  back.  Our 
forces  engaged  were  not  really  over  twenty  thousand, 
while  those  of  the  Confederates  were  estimated  at 
more  than  double  that  number,  with  a  good  artillery 
support.  The  battle  seemed  to  be  a  victory  in  our 
favor,  when  suddenly  a  panic  appeared  to  seize  our 
army,  perhaps  because  the  enemy  had  received  large 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       125 

reinforcements,  and  then  began  a  very  disorderly  re 
treat. 

"  Our  Second  Regiment  fought  bravely  and  were 
among  the  last  to  quit  the  field.  Colonel  Marston  is 
wounded  in  the  arm  and  breast.  I  cannot  tell  how 
many  we  have  lost  from  our  regiment,  but  I  hope  not 
many.  The  loss  generally  in  the  battle  is  very  heavy, 
for  it  was  strongly  contested.  Many  of  our  troops, 
after  leaving  the  field,  thought  the  enemy  in  immediate 
pursuit,  and  the  utmost  confusion  prevailed. 

"  We  remained  in  our  position  until  dark  watching 
the  forces  as  they  retreated  toward  camp.  The 
officers  were  unable  to  rally  the  men,  and  the  retreat 
was  now  turned  into  a  rout.  The  road  was  full  of 
men,  horses,  and  wagons,  and  it  was  pretty  dilficult 
for  us  to  move.  Having  no  confidence  in  the  alarm 
or  that  the  enemy  were  pursuing,  we  made  no  haste 
to  return  to  Washington.  After  being  on  our  way  a 
short  distance,  we  retraced  our  steps  to  Centreville, 
put  up  our  horses,  and  took  tea  with  a  friend  of  Senator 
Lane.  We  then  stretched  ourselves  out  upon  the  floor 
for  some  sleep.  About  eleven  o'clock  that  night,  a  man 
on  horseback  rode  into  the  yard  and  said  the  order  had 
been  given  that  all  must  retreat  and  that  we  must  go. 
I  had  not  slept  a  wink.  We  harnessed  up  and  started 
off.  Our  stop  was  no  doubt  hazardous,  for  we  were 
very  near  the  enemy,  who  would  have  been  glad  to 
have  taken  us  prisoners.  There  were  many  members 
of  Congress  and  Senators  upon  the  field,  and  it  is  re 
ported  that  some  of  them  were  taken.  We  took  up  our 


126  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

line  of  march  for  Washington  and,  in  a  very  brief 
time,  overtook  the  retreating  army,  which  we  found  in 
the  utmost  disorder  and  confusion.  All  mixed  to 
gether  were  officers  and  men,  artillery,  baggage,  and 
ambulance  wagons,  following  no  orders,  but  each  man 
for  himself.  Now  think  of  our  ride.  I  was  in  the 
carriage  and  Lane  on  horseback  for  twenty-six  miles 
over  bad  and,  in  many  places,  narrow  roads,  in  the 
midst  of  an  army  retreating  in  disorder,  with  men, 
horses,  wagons,  and  artillery  cumbering  the  highway. 
We  soon  found  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  all  this  con 
fusion  pushing  forward  to  get  to  the"  capital  as  early 
as  possible.  Sometimes  we  would  be  between  artillery- 
wagons  and  at  others  between  baggage-wagons  which 
might  crush  our  light  vehicle  at  any  moment.  Some 
times  we  would  be  pushing  through  a  dense  mass  of 
moving  men,  with  wounded  and  tired  ones  asking  us 
for  aid.  We  took  in  one  wounded  fellow  and  brought 
him  here.  It  was  a  night's  ride  I  never  shall  forget. 
We  reached  Washington  at  eight  o'clock  this  morning, 
some  of  our  friends  fearing  we  were  captured.  Just 
before  reaching  the  city,  we  gave  our  last  lunch  to 
some  of  the  Goodwin  Rifles  who  were  glad  enough  to 
get  it.  You  may  think  it  strange  that  we  ran  the  risk 
we  did,  but  I  do  not  regret  it,  although  I  must  admit 
that  there  were  many  moments  when  I  would  have  been 
quite  willing  to  have  exchanged  my  place  for  a  seat  by 
your  side  at  the  old  mansion  at  Rollinsford,  with  a 
bowl  of  sweet  milk  that  I  always  find  there,  not  less 
ened  in  quality  by  being  robbed  of  its  cream. 


IN    THE    THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       127 

"  The  troops  were  fearful  of  an  attack  from  cavalry 
at  Fairfax,  so  the  ranks  were  opened  and  a  big  gun 
placed  in  the  advance.  We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  jam 
all  the  way,  and  only  got  relief  at  Long  Bridge,  where 
all  the  soldiers  were  halted  and  cared  for.  I  send 
Edward  a  relic  of  the  enemy.  You  better  not  let  any 
one  read  my  letters.  They  are  nothing  but  scrawls. 
Yours  affectionately." 

While  in  Washington,  Rollins  was  in  constant  cor 
respondence  with  the  Republican  leaders  of  the  State, 
keeping  in  close  touch  with  the  political  situation.  It 
was  just  after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run-  that  he  received 
the  following  letter  from  Bainbridge  Wadleigh. 

"  In  accordance  with  my  promise  I  will  drop  you  a 
few  lines  in  reference  to  matters  in  New  Hampshire. 
You  are,  of  course,  aware  that  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run 
produced  a  profound  impression  upon  the  public  mind 
here.  It  lifted  the  curtain,  and  showed  us  the  magni 
tude  of  the  preparations  that  the  rebels  have  made  for 
a  sanguinary  war.  Many  of  our  timid  Republicans 
shrink  aghast  from  the  prospect  which  has  been  un 
folded  to  their  view.  But  with  other  of  our  friends 
their  spirits  rise  to  the  magnitude  of  the  occasion. 

"  As  for  myself,  I  am  convinced  that  there  is  but 
one  course  left  for  us,  and  that  is  to  keep  fighting 
until  we  beat  the  rebels.  Large  as  the  country  is,  it 
is  not  large  enough  for  two  governments  so  adverse 
to  each  other  in  character  as  ours  and  that  of  the 
rebels.  A  division  of  the  Union  must  result  in  long, 


128  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

harassing,  and  bloody  border  wars  like  the  contests 
which  for  ages  raged  along  the  English  and  Scottish 
frontier.  I  am  glad  that  the  administration  and  Con 
gress  look  at  things  in  the  same  light  and  that  the  war 
is  to  be  vigorously  prosecuted.  .  .  . 

"  One  thing  is  pretty  evident,  -  -  is  doing  all 

he  can  to  shape  public  opinion  so  as  to  procure  a  result 
in  the  next  election  which  will  gladden  the  ears  of 
Jeff.  Davis  and  his  co-conspirators.  Many  other  Dem 
ocrats  are  helping  him.  Many  of  our  men  will  be 
absent  at  the  war,  and  many  others  shaken  by  the 
wholesale  charges  of  corruption  hurled  at  so  many  of 
our  office-holders  by  Democrats  and  Republicans  alike. 
You  should  be  at  home  here  so  that  we  may  have  the 
benefit  of  your  skill  in  carrying  on  an  election." 

This  letter  discloses  the  political  situation  in  New 
Hampshire.  It  was  critical.  The  Bull  'Run  defeat 
had  dampened  the  courage  of  the  Republicans.  The 
curtain  was  indeed  lifted  and  the  magnitude  of  the 
conflict  disclosed.  Would  the  Republican  administra 
tion  at  Washington  b©  equal  to  the  emergency?  The 
faint-hearted  were  inclined  to  doubt.  Love  of  the 
Union  was  paramount  with  many  to  the  destruction 
of  slavery,  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  not  a  few  were 
inclined  to  further  compromise  with  the  slave  power 
if  thereby  the  integrity  of  the  nation  could  be  pre 
served.  The  administration  at  Washington  must  be 
supported  by  the  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire,  yet 
that  support  must  not  be  made  so  partisan  as  to  con 
solidate  the  Democratic  party  in  opposition.  Care 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       129 

must  be  taken  in  preparing  the  call  for  the  approach 
ing  Republican  State  convention,  and  in  conducting 
the  canvass  so  as  not  to  alienate  the  Democrats,  who, 
when  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  had  cast  aside  party 
ties  in  their  patriotic  efforts  to  put  down  the  rebellion. 
To  Rollins,  therefore,  as  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee,  the  Republican  leaders  in  New  Hampshire 
looked  to  outline  the  policy  to  be  pursued. 

Returning  home  after  the  extra  session  of  Congress, 
he  gave  his  attention  to  this  work.  Realizing  that  his 
duties  as  a  member  of  Congress  would  require  his  pres 
ence  in  Washington  during  the  winter  months  each 
year,  and  that,  therefore,  he  could  give  but  little  per 
sonal  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  State  committee, 
he  determined  to  retire  from  the  chairmanship  when 
a  new  committee  was  elected.  The  preliminary  work 
of  the  campaign,  however,  devolved  upon  him,  and  he 
gave  it  his  most  zealous  attention.  The  call  for  the 
State  convention  was  prepared  under  his  direction, 
and  signed  by  the  entire  Republican  State  committee. 
Its  tenor  will  be  readily  seen  from  the  opening  para 
graph. 

"  A  delegate  convention  representing  all  the  people 
of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  in  favor  of  sustaining 
the  national  administration  in  the  vigorous  and  effect 
ive  prosecution  of  the  war  against  treason  and  re 
bellion,  and  of  maintaining  at  all  hazards  in  their 
original  integrity  the  constitution  and  union  of  the 
United  States,  will  be  held  at  Phenix  Hall,  in  Concord, 
January  1,  1862,"  etc. 


130  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

There  was  considerable  sentiment  among  Repub 
licans  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of  some  war  Demo 
crat  or  some  Republican  of  Democratic  antecedents 
as  the  party  candidate  for  governor.  Responding  to 
this  sentiment,  Governor  Berry  addressed  a  patriotic 
letter  to  the  Republican  convention  offering  to  waive 
any  claim  to  the  party  usage  of  a  second  nomination 
if  it  were  felt  that  a  stronger  candidate  than  himself 
could  be  selected.  This  letter  was  read  to  the  conven 
tion  after  it  had  organized  with  the  choice  of  Aaron 
H.  Cragin  as  president.  The  informal  ballot  which 
followed  disclosed  the  following  result :  Scattering,  3 ; 
John  Sullivan,  of  Exeter,  107;  Paul  J.  Wheeler,  of 
Newport,  111 ;  Nathaniel  Berry,  of  Hebron,  260. 

A  formal  ballot  was  then  taken,  which  gave  Berry 
a  majority,  and  his  nomination  was  made  unanimous. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Republican  State  committee  An 
thony  Colby,  of  New  London,  was  elected  chairman, 
and  Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  of  Concord,  secretary. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  met  a  week  later. 
The  party  was  divided  on  both  the  platform  to  be 
adopted  and  the  candidate  to  be  nominated.  The  ultra 
State  rights  Democrats,  led  by  John  II.  George,  fa 
vored  the  renomination  of  George  Stark,  and  a  declara 
tion  in  the  platform  that  slavery  as  an  institution 
should  not  be  disturbed  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
The  more  conservative  Democrats  desired  a  new  can 
didate,  less  pronounced  in  his  views,  and  a  platform 
more  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  Fore 
stalling  any  discussion  which  might  ensue  over  the  plat- 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       131 

form,  George  addressed  the  convention  in  a  vigorous 
speech  as  soon  as  it  was  organized,  and,  working  its 
members  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiasm,  he 
closed  with  a  motion  that  Stark  be  renominated  by 
acclamation.  The  convention  was  carried  away  by 
George's  vigorous  eloquence,  voting  his  motion  with 
out  dissent.  The  nomination  of  Stark  settled  the 
platform.  It  contained  a  declaration  "  that  this  war 
should  not  be  waged  in  any  spirit  of  conquest  or  sub 
jugation,  or  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  the  rights 
or  established  institutions  of  any  of  the  States,  but  to 
defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  constitution 
and  the  rights  of  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  and  to 
preserve  the  Union,  and  that,  as  soon  as  these  objects 
are  accomplished,  war  should  cease." 

This  plank  marked  the  difference  between  the  two 
parties  of  New  Hampshire  in  their  attitude  toward 
the  war,  a  difference  which  continued  pronounced  on 
this  and  other  questions  throughout  the  conflict  be 
tween  the  North  and  the  South. 

The  call  for  a  third,  or  "  Union  Convention/'  was 
issued  immediately,  and  the  convention  met  February 
6th.  It  was  presided  over  by  Ira  Perley,  of  Concord, 
one  of  New  Hampshire's  most  distinguished  jurists. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  supreme  court  for 
fourteen  years  and  chief  justice  at  the  time  of  his 
retirement.  Of  positive  convictions,  he  reached  con 
clusions  uninfluenced  by  popular  feeling.  Although 
an  earnest  Republican,  he  frequently  acted  inde 
pendently  of  his  party,  and  in  this  instance  he  was 


132  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

undoubtedly    actuated    by    a    high,    sense    of    public 
duty. 

The  leading  spirits  of  the  "  Union  Convention  ' 
were  Edward  D.  Rand,  of  Lisbon,  James  W.  Johnson, 
of  Enfield,  William  C.  Clarke  and  Samuel  G.  Clarke, 
of  Manchester,  George  W.  Stevens,  of  Laconia,  and 
Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  of  Dover.  Paul  J.  Wheeler,  of 
Newport,  was  nominated  for  governor.  He  had  been 
a  lifelong  Democrat,  and,  as  a  candidate  for  governor, 
had  received  considerable  support  in  the  late  Republi 
can  convention.  The  "  Union "  party  endorsed  the 
policy  of  President  Lincoln,  and  pledged  him  its  sup 
port,  but  repeated  almost  word  for  word  the  plank  in 
the  Democratic  platform  to  which  reference  has  been 
made. 

The  campaign  was  earnestly  conducted  by  both  the 
Republicans  and  Democrats.  For  a  time  the  nom 
ination  of  Wheeler  seemed  a  menace  to  Republican 
success,  but  toward  the  close  of  the  canvass  it  was  ap 
parent  that  but  few  Republicans  would  be  attracted 
to  his  support.  The  total  vote  fell  off  nearly  four  thou 
sand,  but  the  Republican  party  was  victorious,  as 
shown  by  the  following  returns :  scattering,  45 ;  Paul 
J.  Wheeler,  1,709;  George  Stark,  28,566;  Nathaniel 
S.  Berry,  32,150. 

At  the  regular  session  of  the  thirty-seventh  Con 
gress,  which  convened  on  the  first  Monday  of  Decem 
ber,  1861,  the  question  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia  came  to  the  front.  Early 
in  December,  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  intro- 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       133 

duced  a  bill  in  the  Senate  providing  for  the  immediate 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  District,  and  for  the 
compensation  of  their  owners.  This  bill,  after  debate 
and  amendment,  passed  the  Senate  April  3,  1862,  by 
a  vote  of  29  to  14,  and  was  taken  up  in  the  House  the 
next  week.  It  gave  rise  to  a  brief  but  spirited  debate, 
in  which  Rollins  participated.  The  bill  passed  the 
House  by  a  vote  of  92  to  38,  and  received  the  approval 
of  the  President  April  16,  1862. 

Rollins' s  hostility  to  slavery  was  pronounced.  He 
was  in  the  vanguard  of  Republicans  who  favored  its 
extinction.  He  had  not  been  identified,  however,  with 
the  early  apostles  of  freedom,  like  Garrison  and 
Parker,  who  believed  in  the  destruction  of  slavery, 
regardless  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union,  but  he  looked 
upon  the  institution  as  a  blot  upon  the  country,  to  be 
wiped  out  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity.  In  his 
campaign  as  the  Republican  nominee  for  Congress, 
he  had  been  charged  by  the  Democratic  press  of  New 
Hampshire  with  being  an  abolitionist,  a  charge  he 
never  denied,  and  he  was  ready  to  strike  a  blow  at 
slavery  whenever  it  could  be  done  with  safety  to  the 
Union.  That  he  foresaw  the  destruction  of  slavery 
in  the  United  States,  as  the  final  result  of  the  war,  can 
be  seen  in  his  speech  on  the  bill  emancipating  the 
slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  was  prepared 
to  use  all  the  war  powers  of  the  government  to  eradi 
cate  this  institution.  In  this,  his  first  speech  in  Con 
gress,  he  said: 

"  The   abolition   of   slavery   in  the  District  of   Co- 


134  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

lumbia  is  to  the  few  slaves  therein  a  deed  of  justice 
and  mercy  that  this  people  cannot  omit  to  perform  at 
this  golden  opportunity.  Slavery  has  forfeited  all 
claims  to  any  implied  obligation  for  immunity  at  the 
capital  of  a  nation  by  its  mad  attempt  to  throw  down 
the  pillars  of  the  government  under  which  it  claims 
protection.  .  .  . 

"  With  what  ill  grace  does  it  come  from  the  apolo 
gists  of  slavery  to  charge  that  the  Republican  party  is 
waging  war  for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves !  One 
would  think  that  the  free  States  had  started  a  crusade 
and  marched  their  hosts  into  the  heart  of  the  South 
while  yet  the  whole  population  thereof  were  quietly 
pursuing  the  accustomed  tenor  of  their  lives,  loyal  in 
their  hearts  and  cheerfully  submitting  to  the  proper  re 
straints  of  constitutional  law  and  performing  all  the 
obligations  of  good  citizens.  ...  In  the  whole  history 
of  this  contest,  in  the  records  of  the  doings  of  the  Cabi 
net  or  the  proceedings  of  Congress,  nowhere  can  be 
found  a  single  declaration  to  give  color  to  the  charge 
that  this  is  a  war  for  the  destruction  of  slavery.  On 
the  contrary,  we  have  been  altogether  too  tender  of  the 
institution,  and  our  leniency  has  been  our  fault. 

"It  is  because  the  South  knows  that,  by  all  the  laws 
of  war,  we  should  be  justified  in  seeking  the  heart  of 
the  foe  and  annihilating  forever  the  inspiring  cause 
of  all  our  present  woes,  that  their  frighted  consciences 
start  at  the  thought  of  what  they  know  the  whole  world 
would  applaud. 

"  For  more  than  sixty  years,  the  free  people  of  the 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        135 

North,  as  they  came  to  visit  the  capital  of  the  Union, 
have  been  compelled  to  come  in  contact  with  this  re 
volting  and  offensive  system,  and,  for  fifty  years,  to 
witness  the  cruel  barbaritites  incident  to  the  slave 
trade.  The  laboring  men  of  the  free  States  have  been 
obliged  for  half  a  century  to  submit  to  the  humiliating 
degradation  thus  heaped  upon  them.  .  .  .  Why  should 
slavery  be  allowed  longer  to  remain  in  the  District? 
It  is  not  surprising  that  now,  when  this  same  institu 
tion,  in  addition  to  all  the  other  evils  it  has  caused, 
seeks  to  destroy  the  Union  and  the  government,  the 
toiling  millions  of  the  North  are  determined  at  least 
to  see  it  banished  from  the  capital.  Thus  much  they 
demand,  and  they  will  take  nothing  less.  There  is  to 
be  no  further  delay,  no  putting  off  until  next  year. 
Now  is  the  time  and  the  only  time  acceptable  to  the 
people.  The  abolition  of  slavery  in  this  District  is 
demanded  as  some  slight  indemnity  for  the  past  and 
as  full  security  for  the  future.  The  capital  should 
be  inhabited  by  a  loyal  people,  ready  to  defend  it 
in  rebellion,  and  not  by  a  people  any  considerable 
portion  of  whom  are  ready  to  take  arms  to  destroy  it. 
Slavery  makes  a  people  disloyal,  and,  therefore,  has 
no  claims  to  consideration  or  favor  from  loyal  hearts 
anywhere.  Our  own  self-defence  requires  that  it 
should  be  abolished  wherever  Congress  has  the  power. 
"  Our  honor  demands  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  It  is  world-wide  disgrace  to 
the  nation  that  its  capital  bears  the  curse  of  involun 
tary  servitude.  It  is  our  reproach  in  every  land  upon 


136  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  an  anomaly  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  a  fraud  without  parallel.  It  is  a  huge 
blot  upon  our  otherwise  fair  escutcheon,  which  should 
be  removed  with  the  least  possible  delay.  We  have 
borne  with  the  innumerable  evils  necessarily  incident 
to  the  presence  here  of  the  peculiar  institution  full  too 
long  already,  and  it  must  come  to  an  end.  Who  will 
mourn  its  departure  ?  Who  will  be  sad  when  it  is 
gone  ?  No  true  lover  of  his  country,  no  one  who  places 
a  higher  estimate  upon  the  honor  and  welfare  of  his 
country  than  upon  the  perpetuity  of  slavery." 

Five  weeks  later,  Kollins  made  another  speech  in  the 
House.  This  speech  was  in  support  of  the  bill  confis 
cating  the  property  of  those  in .  arms  against  the  gov 
ernment.  There  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  that  rebellion 
is  treason  against  the  government,  and  he  was  for  met 
ing  out  to  the  enemies  of  the  Republic  all  the  penalties 
of  treason.  He  scorned  the  argument  that  seeks  to  find 
protection  in  the  constitution  for  the  property  of  those 
who  are  attempting  to  destroy  the  Union.  "  It  is  time," 
he  says,  "  that  the  Republic  receive  no  loss,  or,  if  too 
late  for  that,  to  drain  dry  the  sources  upon  which  this 
treason  feeds.  I  am  amazed  at  what  I  hear  that  seems 
to  hold  so  sacred  all  the  rights  that  by  every  act  of 
rebellion  have  been  forfeited,  and  should  be  held  as  lost 
by  every  law  of  reason  and  every  rule  of  self-defence. 
No  man  has  the  hardihood  to  deny  that  we  will  meet 
and  overcome  the  rebels  in  battle.  The  utmost  energies 
of  the  nation  should  be  exerted  to  crush  out  this  trea 
son,  even  to  draining  the  country  to  the  last  man  and 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       137 

the  last  dollar  of  its  treasure.  But  it  is  said  our  en 
emies'  resources  must  remain  untouched  by  us,  to  con 
tinue  to  nourish  and  keep  alive  the  baleful  body  of 
this  treason.  ...  If  there  is  anything  that  will  tend 
to  make  the  constitution  a  less  sacred  thing  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  it  is  the  use  that  is  made  of  it 
to  shield  those  who  are  in  open  rebellion  against  it." 
Eef erring  to  the  scrupulousness  shown  for  the  "  con 
stitutional  rights  of  slave-owners/7  he  exclaims,  "  Their 
constitutional  rights !  They  scorned  them  all.  They 
have  trampled  the  constitution  beneath  the  bloody  hoofs 
of  war,  and  we  still  seek  to  pack  their  breastworks  with 
the  rent  parchment,  so  that  our  shot  shall  not  reach 
the  cause  and  support  of  this  rebellion.  .  .  .  The  re 
volted  States  are  but  the  enemies  of  the  government. 
The  people  regard  them  in  no  other  light,  and  they 
look  to  us  to  crush  them.  They  will  stand  by  those 
who  seek  to  accomplish  this  most  effectually.  If  we  tell 
them  we  are  so  hampered  by  the  constitution  that,  al 
though  we  may  overcome  their  enemies  in  the  field, 
we  must  leave  their  implacable  foe  possessed  of  all  his 
resources,  with  the  poison  still  treasured  in  his  fang, 
we  teach  them  to  disrespect  that  instrument,  the  most 
sacred  of  all  legacies.  It  is  so  sacred  that  whatever 
threatens  it  must  be  destroyed.  If  it  be  men,  they 
must  pay  the  forfeit  with  their  lives.  If  it  be  institu 
tions,  they  must  be  overthrown.  .  .  .  There  is  no  act 
in  the  whole  category  of  crimes  that  have  culminated 
in  this  rebellion  that  slavery  did  not  inspire.  It  has 
sought  to  build  a  government  of  its  own.  If  its  sue- 


138  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

cess  were  among  the  things  possible,  slavery  and  sla 
very  alone  would  be  the  preamble  and  the  close  of  its 
constitution.  Its  laws  would  be  framed  to  extend  and 
perpetuate  slavery.  Its  tariffs  would  be  imposed  to 
protect  it,  and  its  people  taxed  to  feed  it.  This  is  the 
enemy  we  have  to  meet  and  conquer.  This  country  has 
no  other  that  it  need  fear,  and,  while  it  lives,  it  will 
be  a  perpetual  terror." 

The  Independent  Democrat  published  both  of  Rol- 
lins's  speeches  in  full,  and  called  attention  to  them 
editorially.  Of  the  first,  it  said: 

"  The  recent  speech  of  Hon.  Edward  H.  Eollins  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  upon  the  bill  abolishing 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  will  be  found 
printed  upon  our  first  page  this  week.  We  are  con 
fident  that  our  readers  will  peruse  it  with  pleasure. 
It  is  an  excellent  speech,  one  of  the  very  best  which 
has  been  delivered  in  Congress  in  the  present  session. 
It  is  the  first  effort  of  Mr.  Rollins  in  Congressional 
speaking,  and  we  are  happy  to  chronicle  it  a  brilliant 
success.  He  could  have  chosen  no  better  theme  for 
his  debut.  He  has  shown  much  tact  in  the  selection 
of  his  points  of  view  of  the  subject,  and  great  skill  and 
cogency  of  argument  in  discussing  them.  The  speech 
admirably  reflects  the  loyal  sentiment  of  the  Granite 
State,  and  is  fully  up  in  its  tone  and  spirit  with  the 
demands  of  the  hour  for  bold  thought  and  decisive 
action." 

Of  his  speech  on  the  Confiscation  Bill,  the  Inde 
pendent  Democrat  said :  "  It  is  characterized  by  sound 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       139 

argument,  clothed  in  appropriate  and  oftentimes  elo 
quent  expression.  Its  tone,  too,  is  all  right.  It  is  the 
tone  of  the  popular  heart  of  ISTew  Hampshire.77 

The  labor  devolving  upon  Rollins  during  this  and 
the  subsequent  Congress  was  prodigious.  In  commit 
tee  and  the  routine  work  of  the  House,  he  was  kept 
busy.  Few  members  are  capable  or  willing  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  arduous  details  of  legislation 
which  afford  little  or  no  public  credit  to  the  individ 
ual.  Rollins's  aptitude  for  this  class  of  work  was  soon 
recognized  by  his  associates,  and,  being  willing  to  un 
dertake  it,  he  had  it  pressed  upon  him  in  abundance. 
In  addition,  he  had  to  attend  to  the  calls  of  constitu 
ents  in  two  Congressional  districts,  as  his  colleague, 
Oilman  Marston,  was  doing  service  as  an  army  officer 
in  the  field.  Hundreds  of  inquiries  came  from  the 
families  and  relatives  of  New  Hampshire  soldiers  at 
the  front,  all  of  which  Rollins  answered.  These  were 
often  supplemented  by  requests  for  passes  to  go  within 
the. Union  lines  to  care  for  some  father,  son,  or  brother, 
wounded  in  battle  or  stricken  with  disease,  and  lan 
guishing  in  a  hospital.  Then  there  were  countless  ap 
plications  for  furloughs,  sick  leaves,  transfers,  and  pro 
motions  from  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  service.  The 
appeals  from  home  wrere  frequently  most  pathetic,  and 
sometimes  impossible  to  grant.  Yet,  no  matter  how 
insurmountable  the  obstacles  seemed  to  be,  Rollins 
never  shrank  from  undertaking  to  aid  a  constituent. 
His  success  in  bringing  about  results  soon  gave  him 
a  reputation  that  overshadowed  that  of  any  of  the 


140  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Senators  or  Representatives  from  New  Hampshire,  and 
constantly  added  to  his  daily  toil. 

With  Lincoln  and  Stanton,  Rollins  stood  on  intimate 
terms.  Both  appreciated  him  for  his  industry,  loyalty, 
and  executive  capacity,  and  seldom  did  he  ask  a  favor 
of  either  that  was  not  granted.  Most  Senators  and 
members  of  Congress  stood  in  awe  of  Stanton.  Rollins 
appears  never  to  have  feared  him.  Stanton  appreci 
ated  a  man  who  did  things,  and,  if  he  refused  less  re 
quests  of  Rollins  than  of  others,  it  was  because  he 
looked  upon  Rollins  as  fitted  for  the  sphere  in  which 
he  was  acting. 

The  experience  of  Supply  W.  Edwards,  of  Temple, 
New  Hampshire,  in  the  fall  of  1862  was  only  one  of 
many  who,  having  relatives  or  friends  in  the  army, 
applied  to  Rollins  for  his  influence  to  secure  for  them 
some  alleviation  of  their  unfortunate  conditions.  Ed 
wards,  years  afterward,  in  1876,  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  of  New  Hampshire.  Rollins  was  then  a 
candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate.  When  Ed 
wards  reached  Concord,  he  was  importuned  by  a  num 
ber  of  Representatives  who  endeavored  to  persuade  him 
to  support  some  other  candidate  for  Senator.  After 
hearing  them  all  through,  Edwards  gave  his  reasons  for 
supporting  Rollins  in  these  words : 

"  Gentlemen,  listen  to  my  story  and  my  reasons  for 
supporting  Edward  H.  Rollins,  and,  if  there  is  a  man 
here  who  would  not  support  him  in  like  circumstances, 
the  people  who  have  sent  him  to  the  legislature  have 
made  a  mistake.  In  the  fall  of  1862,  I  went  to  Wash- 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       141 

ington  to  try  and  save  the  life  of  my  sick  boy,  who  had 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  Thirteenth  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers,  and  was  reported  sick  in  the  hospital  at 
Falrnouth,  Virginia.  I  had  some  frientls  in  Washing 
ton,  and  I  told  them  what  brought  me  there.  They 
informed  me  it  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  get  a  pass 
to  go  down  the  river,  but  said  that  if  I  would  call  on 
Senator  Daniel  Clark  he  would  probably  fix  it  for  me. 
I  had  letters  to  both  Senators  Clark  and  Cragin.  When 
I  told  my  story  to  Senator  Clark,  he  shook  his  head, 
and  said,  '  It's  a  hard  thing  to  do,  but  I  will  try.  Call 
on  me  to-morrow.'  The  next  day  the  Senator  told  me 
an  order  had  been  issued  not  to  allow  any  citizen  to  go 
down  the  Lower  Potomac,  and  that  he  could  not  get 
me  a  pass.  I  then  applied  to  Senator  Cragin.  He 
also  made  an  effort  and  failed.  I  felt  almost  heart 
broken,  as  my  boy  had  written  me  that  if  he  could  only 
see  his  father  he  was  sure  he  could  get  well.  My  money 
was  most  gone,  and  I  was  in  despair.  Some  of  my 
friends  suggested  that  I  go  and  see  Ed  Eollins.  With 
out  any  hope  of  success,  I  called  upon  him.  I  went  to 
the  Capitol  building  and  was  shown  to  a  room  where 
some  committee  was  in  session.  A  messenger  notified 
Mr.  Eollins  that  a  man  from  ISTew  Hampshire  desired 
to  see  him.  Mr.  Rollins,  whom  I  had  never  met,  came 
out  into  the  corridor  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  an  unlighted 
cigar  in  his  mouth.  His  salutation  was,  ( Well,  my 
good  man  from  New  Hampshire,  what  is  your  name 
and  what  can  I  do  for  you  ? '  I  was  somewhat  con 
fused,  and,  before  I  could  speak,  tears  were  streaming 


LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS,, 

down  my  cheeks.  I  finally  got  my  voice,  and  I  told  him 
what  I  was  in  Washington  for  and  what  fortune  I  had 
had  with  the  two  Senators  from  New  Hampshire.  Be 
fore  I  could  say  anything  more,  Rollins  said,  i  Wait  a 
moment.'  He  hurried  into  the  room,  got  his  coat  and 
came  out,  putting  on  the  coat  as  he  travelled  along. 
'  Come  with  me/  he  said.  I  could  hardly  keep  up  with 
him  down  the  long  steps  of  the  Capitol  to  the  avenue. 
He  called  a  carriage,  shouted  to  the  driver,  '  White 
House/  and  told  me  to  get  in.  When  we  reached  the 
White  House,  he  left  me  at  the  door  of  the  President's 
room,  and  said,  i  Wait  here  until  I  return.'  He  was 
gone  twenty  minutes  to  half  an  hour.  When  he  re 
turned,  he  caught  me  by  the  arm,  rushed  out  to  the 
carriage,  and  said  to  the  driver,  '  To  the  War  Depart 
ment.'  Arriving  there,  we  went  to  the  door  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  War,  where  he  bade  me  wait.  Here  he  was 
gone  another  twenty  minutes,  but,  when  he  came  out, 
he  handed  me  a  pass  from  Abraham  Lincoln,  counter 
signed  by  Stanton,  permitting  me  to  go  down  to  the 
army  and  see  my  sick  son.  Gentlemen,  do  you  think 
there  is  anything  you  can  say  that  would  lead  me  to 
support  any  other  man  than  Edward  H.  Rollins  ?  " 

The  Washington  correspondent  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Statesman,  in  a  letter  to  that  newspaper  about 
this  time,  thus  speaks  of  Rollins's  service  in  the  na 
tional  House  of  Representatives: 

"  Without  in  any  manner  detracting  from  the  faith 
ful  labors  of  other  members,  I  cannot  forbear  mention 
ing  the  member  of  the  House  from  Concord  as  a  true 


IN  *THE    THIRTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS       143 

specimen  of  a  working  Congressman.  Since  Colonel 
Marston  has  served  in  the  army,  the  people  of  the  first 
district  have  put  a  vast  deal  of  labor  upon  Mr.  Eollins. 
^N"o  man  could  have  proved  more  ready  to  serve  the 
interests  of  the  people  of  this  district  than  has  the 
member  from  the  second  district,  and  his  attention  to 
the  wants  of  Colonel  Marston's  constituency  in  addi 
tion  to  those  of  his  own  has  been  most  marked  and 
unremitting.  Mr.  Rollins  is  a  good  business  man  and, 
although  it  may  be  at  the  risk  of  imposing  greater 
labors  upon  an  already  too  hard  worked  member,  yet 
I  cannot  forbear  saying  that  no  man  in  the  New 
Hampshire  delegation  in  Congress  seems  to  have  alike 
the  equal  ability  and  inclination  to  follow  up  the  in 
terests  of  his  constituents  through  the  mazes  of  circum 
locution  which  abound  in  Washington." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

BE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS 

THE  adjournment  of  Congress  brought  no  respite 
to  Rollins.  The  calls  of  his  constituents  were  constant 
whether  he  was  in  Washington  or  at  home.  Then  he 
had  his  part  in  stimulating  enlistments  to  fill  the  calls 
made  by  the  President  for  additional  troops.  A  great 
war  meeting  was  held  at  Concord  in  the  summer  of 
1862,  which  he  addressed  with  Governor  Berry  and 
others.  The  approaching  campaign  of  1863  also 
loomed  large  upon  the  political  horizon.  A  new  can 
didate  for  governor  was  to  be  selected  by  the  Republi 
cans,  and  certain  indications  pointed  to  a  nomination 
not  likely  to  add  strength  to  the  ticket.  It  was  the 
Congressional  year,  and  Rollins  himself  must  go  before 
the  people  to  secure  approval  of  his  stewardship. 

The  war  as  yet  had  brought  no  decisive  success  to 
the  Union  arms,  while  the  Emancipation  Proclama 
tion  of  the  President  was  to  issue  in  the  new  year. 
It  was  by  no  means  certain  that  the  voters  of  New 
Hampshire  would  approve  of  this  forward  movement 
of  the  Republican  party.  There  were  a  number  of 
Republicans  who  doubted  its  wisdom,  while  there  were 

144 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  145 

others  who  thought  the  step  had  been  too  long  delayed. 
As  in  other  States,  the  Republican  party  of  New 
Hampshire  was  weakened  by  the  army  enlistments, 
for,  besides  Republicans  who  were  absent  at  the  front, 
there  were  many  Democrats  from  the  State  in  the 
army  who  had  no  sympathy  with  slavery.  These 
voters  could  not  be  brought  home,  and  there  was  as 
yet  no  provision  for  counting  the  votes  of  soldiers  in 
the  field. 

The  Democratic  press  of  E"ew  Hampshire,  thor 
oughly  hostile  to  emancipation,  charged  that  the  Re 
publican  administration  was  violating  its  pledges  made 
early  in  the  war.  "  It  was  to  be  a  war,"  they  said, 
"  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  not  for  the 
destruction  of  State  institutions  like  slavery.'7  This 
attitude  of  the  Democracy,  which  later  was  so  disas 
trous  to  that  party,  did  not  at  first  impair  its  solidar 
ity.  When  the  loyalty  of  that  party  was  questioned, 
its  leaders  resented  it.  While  antagonizing  the  ad 
ministration  of  Lincoln,  they  still  asserted  their  op 
position  to  secession  and  their  attachment  to  the  Union. 
They  insisted  upon  a  distinction  being  drawn  between 
opposition  to  the  war  and  opposition  to  the  civil  and 
political  measures  of  the  administration.  This  dis 
tinction  for  a  time  held  loyal  Democrats  to  the  support 
of  the  party  ticket.  It  was  only  when  in  platform 
and  in  speech  the  Democratic  leaders  declared  the  war 
a  failure,  and  demanded  peace  at  any  price,  that  disin 
tegration  of  their  ranks  began.  At  the  opening  of  the 
New  Hampshire  campaign  of  1863,  it  was  not  ap- 


146  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

parent  that  a  single  Democratic  voter  could  be  won  to 
the  support  of  the  Republican  ticket  by  the  Republi 
can  party's  declaration  in  favor  of  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves.  The  prospect  of  Republican  success  in 
the  State  was,  therefore,  far  from  propitious,  and,  as 
events  proved,  the  election  was  to  be  won  only  by  the 
hardest  kind  of  work.  The  situation  in  the  fall  of 
1862  was  one  of  grave  concern  to  Rollins  and  other 
Republican  leaders  of  the  State. 

The  Democrats  were  first  in  the  field  in  ]STew 
Hampshire  with  a  State  convention.  It  was  held  No 
vember  20,  1862.  Ira  A.  Eastman,  of  Concord,  was 
nominated  for  governor.  He  had  served  ten  years  on 
the  bench  of  the  supreme  court  of  .the  State,  and  was 
highly  esteemed  by  the  people  of  New  Hampshire. 
Previous  to  his  appointment  to  the  bench  he  had  been 
Speaker  of  the  House  and  a  member  of  Congress. 
His  nomination  was  the  strongest  the  Democratic  party 
could  have  made  at  this  time. 

Among  the  resolutions   adopted  was  the  following: 

"  Resolved,  That  we  unqualifiedly  condemn  the  late 
proclamation  of  the  President  relative  to  emancipation 
as  unwarranted  by  the  constitution,  in  violation  of  the 
solemnly  plighted  faith  of  the  administration  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war  and,  if  persisted  in,  fatal 
to  all  hopes  of  a  restored  Union." 

Daniel  Marcy  was  renominated  for  Congress  in  the 
first  district,  and  William  Burns,  of  Lancaster,  in  the 
third  district.  In  the  second  district,  John  II.  George, 
of  Concord,  who  had  withdrawn  after  nomination  in 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  147 

the  previous  campaign,  was  again  nominated  as  a  can 
didate  to  meet  Rollins.  The  platform  adopted  in  this 
convention  was  in  consonance  with  that  of  the  State 
convention,  only  more  pronounced.  It  declared  that 
the  Democratic  party  had  no  sympathy  with  radical 
abolition  at  the  North,  and  denounced  the  recent 
Emancipation  Proclamation  of  the  President  to  be 
"  not  only  unconstitutional,  but  fraught  with  more  evil 
than  good,  not  only  to  the  government,  but  also  to  the 
class  of  individuals  upon  whom  it  was  designed  to 
operate.'7 

The  platform  adopted  at  the  convention  wThich  nom 
inated  Daniel  Marcy  declared  it  to  be  its  "  solemn  con 
viction  that  this  bloody  and  fratricidal  strife  ought,  as 
soon  as  practicable  and  prudent,  to  be  arrested  by  an 
armistice  and  steps  taken  by  means  of  a  commission 
or  a  convention  of  the  States  to  restore  and  save  our 
glorious  Union  in  the  spirit  of  justice,  compromise, 
and  concession,  in  which  it  was  framed  and  trans 
mitted  to  us  by  our  patriotic  fathers." 

George,  in  his  letter  of  response,  said :  "  I  can  only 
regard  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  .  as  disgraceful 
in  its  futility,  disastrous  in  its  policy,  palpable  in  its 
violation  of  the  constitution,  and  atrocious  in  its  pur 
pose." 

The  Republican   State   convention  met   January   1, 

1863.      Ichabod    Goodwin,    of    Portsmouth,    presided. 

•The   prominent    candidates   were   Onslow    Stearns,    of 

Concord;    Frederick  Smyth,   of  Manchester;    Walter 

Ilarriman,    of  Warner ;     and   Joseph   A.    Gilmore,   of 


148  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Concord,  the  latter  being  the  leading  candidate.  Gil- 
more  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Concord  Railroad. 
He  was  a  man  of  forceful  character,  actively  inter 
ested  in  politics,  and  ambitious  of  political  preferment. 
His  connection  with  the  railroad  aroused  hostility  to 
his  candidacy  for  governor,  first  at  the  convention  and 
later  at  the  polls.  The  support  of  Harriman  came 
from  Republicans  who  thought  it  would  be  both  politic 
and  wise  to  nominate  a  war  Democrat  and  a  soldier, 
and  who  were  also  apprehensive  of  Gilmore's  strength 
as  a  candidate.  Rollins  appears  to  have  been  one  of 
those  who  doubted  the  advisability  of  Gilmore's  nom 
ination  at  this  time.  An  informal  ballot  being  taken, 
it  was  found  that  Gilmore  lacked  only  eight  votes  of 
a  majority  of  the  convention.  After  this  vote  was  de 
clared,  a  letter  from  Harriman  was  read,  in  which 
he  said  that  he  must  not  be  considered  as  a  candidate. 
In  spite  of  this  letter,  he  received  a  large  vote  on  the 
formal  ballot  which  followed,  and  which  resulted  in  the 
nomination  of  Gilmore  by  thirty-eight  majority. 

The  platform  was  reported  by  Amos  Tuck,  of  Ex 
eter.  This  platform  congratulated  the  President  that 
his  patriotism,  honesty,  and  singleness  of  purpose  had 
never  been  questioned  and  that  his  "  proclamation 
(emancipation)  this  day  to  be  issued  enrolls  his 
name  with  imperishable  renown  upon  the  records  of 
time." 

In  the  Republican  conventions  of  the  first  and  third 
Congressional  districts,  there  were  spirited  contests. 
In  both  conventions  there  were  three  candidates.  In 


EE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  149 

the  first  district,  John  D.  Lyman,  of  Farmington, 
Oilman  Marston,  of  Exeter,  and  Joel  Eastman,  of  Con- 
way,  were  the  candidates.  On  the  fourth  ballot,  East 
man  was  nominated. 

The  nomination  of  the  latter  was  a  great  disap 
pointment  to  Marston  and  his  friends,  who  confidently 
expected  his  second  renomination.  Eastman  was  of 
Whig  antecedents,  prominent  in  that  party's  councils 
as  early  as  1838,  when  he  was  its  candidate  for  Con 
gress.  He  was  United  States  district  attorney  for 
New  Hampshire  under  the  elder  Harrison,  and  he 
had  considerable  support  as  a  candidate  for  United 
States  Senator  in  the  legislature  of  1854.  Uniting 
with  the  Republican  party  at  the  time  of  its  formation, 
he  became  one  of  its  influential  leaders  in  his  section 
of  the  State. 

In  the  third  district,  the  candidates  were  Thomas 
M.  Edwards,  of  Keene,  James  W.  Patterson,  of  Han 
over,  and  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lancaster.  Patterson  and 
Benton  tied  on  the  fourth  ballot,  and,  on  the  fifth, 
Patterson  was  nominated. 

In  the  second  district,  Rollins  was  nominated  by 
acclamation.  He  was  endorsed  by  the  convention  as 
follows : 

"  Resolved,  That  Edward  H.  Rollins  has  by  his  in 
dustry,  activity,  and  faithful  discharge  of  his  public 
duties  proved  himself  a  talented  and  useful  legislator 
and  an  eminently  practical  and  worthy  representative, 
and  we  commend  him  for  reelection  to  the  voters  of 
the  district  as  a  public  servant  true  in  every  respect 


150  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

to  the  vital  interests  of  his  district,  his  State,  and  the 
country." 

As  Rollins  was  not  present  at  the  convention,  he  was 
notified  of  his  nomination  by  letter.  In  this  letter,  the 
committee  say : 

"  The  cordial  manner  with  which  your  name  was 
presented  by  the  convention  to  the  electors  of  the  dis 
trict  we  regard  as  a  just  and  fitting  tribute  to  a  faith 
ful  public  servant.  During  the  short  time  you  have 
been  in  Congress,  you  have  been  called  upon  to  act 
upon  some  of  the  most  solemn  and  momentous  ques 
tions  that  were  ever  submitted  to  a  legislator,  and  the 
skill  and  fidelity  that  you  have  manifested  in  guard 
ing  the  numerous  interests  that  have  been  committed 
to  your  keeping  cannot  fail  to  meet  the  entire  approval 
of  a  large  majority  of  your  constituents.  We  -have 
been  gratified  to  notice  the  faithful  and  steady  sup 
port  you  have  given  to  the  President  while  he  has  been 
laboring  to  put  down  treason  and  rebellion  in  the  coun 
try,  preserve  the  constitution,  and  restore  the  union 
of  the  United  States.  We  confidently  believe  that, 
should  you  again  be  returned  to  the  national  legisla 
ture,  you  will  continue  constantly  to  oppose  any  sur 
render  of  those  great  and  immutable  principles  of  lib 
erty  and  equality  that  constitute  the  foundations  of  a 
Republican  government." 

To  this  Rollins  replied,  thanking  the  delegates  for 
their  expressions  of  confidence,  and  outlining  the  issue 
of  the  campaign.  He  said :  "  The  continuance  of  this 
great  struggle  for  the  maintenance  of  a  free  govern- 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  151 

ment  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  constitution  and 
the  Union  renders  it  necessary  that  all  questions  of 
minor  consideration  should  be  held  in  abeyance  and 
that  the  patriotic  people  of  the  loyal  States  should 
stand  by  and  support  the  constituted  authorities  in  all 
their  earnest  efforts  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  on  the 
battle-field,  before  the  people,  at  the  ballot-box,  or  wher 
ever  they  may  be  called  upon  to  act  or  speak.  .  .  . 
Propositions  for  an  armistice  or  a  temporary  peace 
that  would  allow  the  rebels  to  recuperate  their  wasted 
energies  for  a  more  desperate  struggle,  and  declarations 
that  i  the  conflict  has  raged  more  than  #  year  and  a 
half  with  no  other  result  than  a  frightful  sacrifice  of 
blood  and  treasure,'  whether  made  in  Congress  or  polit 
ical  conventions  in  l^ew  Hampshire,  all  point  unmis 
takably  to  a  disgraceful  surrender  of  our  rights  and 
liberties,  a  final  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  an  ig 
nominious  peace  dictated  to  us  by  Jefferson  Davis  and 
his  coworkers  in  treason.  Most  earnestly  do  I  desire 
to  behold  again  permanent  peace  restored  to  our  bleed 
ing  country,  and  to  welcome  back  thousands  of  noble 
men  and  war-worn  veterans,  who  have  gone  forth  to 
do  battle  for  the  right,  to  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life, 
to  a  generous  people,  and  to  happy  homes,  but  I  want 
a_  peace  which  shall  be  honorable  and  consistent  with 
past  history,  a  peace  which  shall  be  an  earnest  of  our 
future  triumphs,  and  upon  such  terms  as  shall  cause 
the  stars  and  stripes  to  be  respected  throughout  the 
Union." 

The  Statesman  spoke  of  Rollins's  renomination  as 


152  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

follows :  "  The  first  term  of  Mr.  Rollins  is  now  near 
its  close,  and  it  may  without  qualification  be  said  that 
New  Hampshire  never  had  a  representative  in  Con 
gress  more  attentive  to  his  legislative  duties,  or  more 
unweary  in  his  efforts  to  promote  her  welfare  in  the 
calamitous  period  upon  which  we  have  f alien. " 

The  Independent  Democrat  said :  "  In  the  second 
district,  Edward  II.  Rollins  is  a  candidate  for  reelec 
tion.  He  was  nominated  by  acclamation.  This  token 
of  confidence  and  respect  he  has  fully  and  nobly  earned 
by  his  career  in  Congress.  A  more  active  and  efficient 
representative,  one  more  untiringly  devoted  to  the  in 
terest  of  his  constituents  than  Mr.  Rollins,  New 
Hampshire  has  never  sent  to  the  capital  of  the  nation. 
Both  a  worker  and  a  speaker,  he  has  already  achieved 
a  national  fame.  His  earnest  support  of  the  govern 
ment  in  its  present  deadly  encounter  with  rebellion 
is  the  outgrowth  of  true  patriotism,  a  patriotism  that 
embraces  our  whole  country  as  the  God-given  heritage 
of  freedom.  He  will  be,  as  he  ought  to  be,  trium 
phantly  elected." 

It  was  apparent  from  the  beginning  that  the  contest 
in  New  Hampshire  would  be  close,  and  that,  whichever 
party  won,  it  would  win  by  a  narrow  margin.  The 
campaign  was  one  of  the  hardest  fought  in  the  history 
of  the  State.  The  previous  fall  elections  had  resulted 
in  great  gains  of  Democratic  Congressmen.  Upon  the 
outcome  of  the  spring  elections  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut  might  depend  the  organization  of  the 
next  national  House  of  Representatives.  Gilmore,  the 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  153 

Republican  nominee  for  governor,  did  not  command 
the  united  support  of  the  party  and  the  failure  of  the 
convention  to  nominate  a  soldier  disappointed  many 
Republicans.  At  one  time  in  the  campaign  there 
was  every  indication  of  the  election  by  the  people  of 
Eastman,  the  Democratic  candidate.  The  defeat  of  all 
the  Republican  candidates  in  Congress  also  seemed 
probable. 

Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  of  Warner,  was  elected  chair 
man  of  the  Republican  State  committee.  Associated 
with  him  in  the  conduct  of  the  campaign  was  William 
E.  Chandler.  It  was  a  trying  campaign  from  start 
to  finish,  taxing  all  the  energies  and  resources  of  both 
the  chairman  and  his  assistants.  Charles  H.  Roberts, 
for  many  years  a  member  and  officer  of  the  Republican 
State  committee,  says  of  this  campaign : 

"  It  was  the  most  strenuous  in  my  experience.  The 
committee  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  procuring 
speakers,  and  was  equally  embarrassed  by  lack  of  funds 
to  conduct  the  canvass.  Everything  seemed  to  com 
bine  for  our  defeat.  Our  candidate  for  governor  was 
unpopular,  while  the  Democratic  candidate  stood  higli 
in  the  estimation  of  the  people.  The  Republican 
party  was  not  united  on  the  slavery  question,  and  it 
suffered  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  voters  who  had 
enlisted  in  the  army,  a  majority  of  whom  would  have 
voted  the  Republican  ticket  if  they  had  had  the  op 
portunity,  whatever  their  prevous  political  predilec 
tions.  At  no  time  in  the  campaign  could  the  committee 
figure  out  success.  Ordway,  as  chairman,  did  excellent 


154  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

service,  while  Rollins  earnestly  cooperated  from  Wash 
ington,  but  a  large  share  of  credit  for  our  victory  was 
due  to  Chandler." 

When  it  became  apparent  that  Gilmore  wras  likely 
to  be  defeated  at  the  polls,  a  third  party  organization 
was  inspired  by  the  Republican  leaders.  A  union  con 
vention,  so-called,  was  held  in  Manchester,  February 
17,  1863.  William  C.  Clarke,  of  Manchester,  pre 
sided.  Walter  Harriman,  then  a  colonel  of  one  of  the 
New  Hampshire  regiments,  was  nominated  for  gov 
ernor.  Harriman  at  the  time  was  what  was  known  as 
a  "  War  Democrat."  The  resolutions  adopted  were 
vigorous  and  patriotic,  but  indicated  no  party  spirit. 
The  Democratic  press  denounced  the  convention  as 
a  Republican  subterfuge,  and  were  especially  bitter 
in  their  reflections  upon  Harriman  for  permitting  the 
use  of  his  name  as  a  candidate. 

The  Patriot  of  January  28,  1863,  said:  "  The  Dem 
ocratic  position  is  fully  and  clearly  defined  in  few 
words.  The  party  is  for  the  maintenance  of  the  con 
stitution  as  it  is  and  the  restoration  of  the  Union  as  it 
was." 

The  Democrats  were  very  confident  of  success,  being 
inspired  by  the  victories  of  their  party  in  the  previous 
fall  elections.  Assisting  them  as  speakers  in  the  cam 
paign  were  William  A.  Richardson,  United  States  Sen 
ator  from  Illinois,  Charles  Levi  Woodbury,  A.  O. 
Brewster,  E.  D.  Kelley,  T.  H.  Sweetser,  Richard  S. 
Spofford,  and  W.  D.  Northend,  of  Massachusetts. 

Aiding  the  Republicans  were  William  D.  Kelley,  of 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  155 

Pennsylvania,  Lot  M.  Merrill,  Israel  Washburn,  and 
Charles  J.  Oilman,  of  Maine,  William  A.  Howard,  of 
Michigan,  John  A.  Bingham,  of  Ohio,  A.  J.  Hamilton, 
of  Texas,  Governor  John  A.  Andrew,  E.  W.  Hincks, 
and  Charles  W.  Slack,  of  Massachusetts,  and  B.  F. 
Flanders,  of  Louisiana. 

The  last  act  of  the  thirty-seventh  Congress,  whicli 
expired  March  3,  1863,  a  few  days  before  the  New 
Hampshire  election,  was  the  Conscription  Act  author 
izing  the  draft  to  supply  troops  for  the  Union  armies. 
This  act  the  Democrats  had  opposed  in  Congress,  and 
their  New  Hampshire  brethren  now  took  up  the  re 
frain  of  their  Congressional  leaders,  denouncing  the 
draft  as  unconstitutional.  They  argued  that  a  war 
which  could  not  be  sustained  by  the  patriotism  of  the 
people  ought  to  cease.  The  Emancipation  Proclama 
tion  had  made  the  draft  necessary.  If  the  administra 
tion  at  Washington  had  held  to  its  original  declara 
tion  to  wage  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
there  would  be  no  trouble  about  volunteers.  Men,  how 
ever,  would  not  enlist  to  fight  for  the  emancipation  of 
the  negro.  The  Republican  party  had  repeatedly  ig 
nored  the  constitution  in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  Now 
all  its  sacred  guarantees  were  violated.  The  war  had 
become  one  of  conquest  and  subjugation. 

No  Union  victory  in  the  field  occurred  to  inspire 
the  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire.  The  draft  was 
recognized  by  them  as  a  necessity,  but  it  was  not  popu 
lar  with  the  people.  Between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-five  no  able-bodied  man  was  exempt  from  its  pro- 


156  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

visions.  The  bread-winners  might  now  be  drawn  from 
any  home  for  service  in  the  army.  It  was  the  most 
gloomy  period  of  the  war.  None  could  foresee  the 
end.  There  had  been  almost  two  years  of  strife, 
and  yet  the  Southern  confederacy  seemed  invincible. 
Coming  at  a  time  when  the  Republican  State  committee 
of  New  Hampshire  almost  despaired  of  success,  the 
Conscription  Act  seemed  to  ensure  defeat.  Yet  some 
how  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  were  inspired  to 
greater  determination  the  more  the  issue  seemed  doubt 
ful.  The  State  committee  redoubled  its  efforts,  and 
the  closing  week  of  the  campaign  saw  the  Republicans 
wrought  to  the  highest  tension.  Republican  appeals 
were  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people,  and -the  people  did 
not  fail  them,  although  the  election  was  close,  and,  for 
some  time  after  the  returns  began  to  come  in,  the 
result  was  in  doubt.  Democratic  bulletins  the  night 
of?  election  announced  the  defeat  of  Gilmore  and  the 
election  to  Congress  of  Marcy  and  George  over  East 
man  and  Rollins. 

The  total  vote  was  increased  more  than  four  thou 
sand  over  the  vote  of  the  previous  year,  and  Eastman, 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor,  came  within 
less  than  five  hundred  votes  of  an  election  by  the 
people.  The  choice  for  governor  was  thrown  into  the 
legislature,  which  the  Republicans  carried  by  a  greatly 
reduced  majority.  In  the  Congressional  districts,  the 
Democrats  carried  the  first,  electing  Daniel  Marcy  by 
70  plurality.  Rollins  was  elected  in  the  second  dis- 


RE  -  ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  157 

trict   by    351    plurality,    and   Patterson    in    the   third 
district  by  376  plurality. 

The  margin  of  Eepublican  victory  in  the  State  was, 
therefore,  very  slight.  There  was  no  election  of  gov 
ernor  by  the  people.  The  Republican  majority  in  the 
legislature  was  reduced  one-half,  and  the  Republicans 
had  lost  one  member  of  Congress  and  elected  the  other 
two  by  very  small  pluralities.  The  tide  of  Democratic 
victory  in  the  October  and  November  elections  of  1862, 
however,  was  checked  by  the  New  Hampshire  election, 
and  the  result  in  that  State  was  hailed  by  Republicans 
throughout  the  country  as  encouraging.  Rollins's  part 
in  the  campaign  was  considerable,  although  his  duties 
in  Washington,  the  thirty-seventh  Congress  being  upon 
its  last  session,  prevented  him  from  personally  par 
ticipating  therein.  The  chairman  of  the  State  commit 
tee  visited  him  in  Washington  for  conference,  while, 
by  correspondence,  Rollins  stimulated  the  activities  of 
leading  Republicans  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  This 
New  Hampshire  election  had  an  important  influence 
in  national  affairs.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation 
and  the  draft  had  been  vital  issues  in  the  campaign, 
and  Republican  victory  in  the  State  showed  that  the 
people  would  sustain  the  administration  at  Washing 
ton.  To  the  national  Republican  leaders  this  victory 
was  as  welcome  as  a  triumph  in  the  field. 


CHAPTEK   IX. 

IN    THE    THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS 

CONGRESS  met  in  regular  session  in  December, 
1863,  making  choice  of  Schuyler  Coif  ax  as  Speaker 
of  the  House.  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway  was  elected  ser- 
geant-at-arms.  The  New  Hampshire  members  were 
assigned  to  committees  as  follows:  Rollins  was  made 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  accounts  and  a  member 
of  the  committee  on  public  expenditures;  Patterson 
had  Rollins's  place  on  the  committee  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  was  made  a  member  of  the  commit 
tee  on  expenditures  of  the  Treasury  Department;  and 
Marcy  was  given  a  position  on  the  committee  on  Rev 
olutionary  pensions  and  the  committee  on  expendi 
tures  of  the  Navy  Department.  The  committee  on 
public  expenditures  appears  to  have  been  busy  mak 
ing  investigations,  the  New  York  custom-house  being 
one  of  the  subjects  of  their  inquiry. 

It  was  during  the  first  session  of  this  Congress  that 
Rollins  was  brought  into  prominence  by  an  attempt 
made  by  the  Republicans  of  the  House  to  expel  Repre 
sentative  Alexander  Long,  of  the  second  Ohio  dis 
trict,  for  alleged  treasonable  utterances  in  debate.  It 

158 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        159 

was  at  a  time  of  intense  feeling  over  the  war.  General 
Grant  had  been  recently  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Union  armies,  and  was  beginning  his  advance 
on  Kichmond.  News  of  a  battle  was  momentarily  ex 
pected.  The  North  was  making  strenuous  efforts  to 
fill  its  quota  of  troops.  Grant's  successes  in  the  West 
had  created  a  confidence  that,  under  his  leadership,  the 
war  would  be  speedily  brought  to  an  end.  It  was  felt 
that  the  tide  had  turned  in  favor  of  the  Union  forces, 
and  that,  with  a  united  front,  the  rebellion  would  be 
crushed.  Therefore,  Long's  speech  made  a  deeper  im 
pression  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  it  had  been 
delivered  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  war.  Long  dis 
tinctly  avowed  that  his  Democratic  associates  were  in 
no  way  responsible  for  what  he  said,  and  nearly  all  of 
them  repudiated  in  the  discussion  which  followed  the 
particular  sentiments  for  which  it  was  sought  to  expel 
him,  though  opposing  his  expulsion  as  a  blow  at  free 
dom  in  debate. 

On  Friday,  April  8,  1864,  Long  obtained  the  floor, 
the  House  having  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of 
the  whole  on  the  state  of  the  Union  upon  the  Presi 
dent's  message,  with  George  S.  Boutwell,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  in  the  chair.  Long's  speech  was  a  carefully 
prepared  and  written  address,  and,  in  the  main,  it  was 
an  argument  against  the  constitutional  right  of  the 
government  to  coerce  a  sovereign  State  in  rebellion. 
This  feature  attracted  no  attention,  as  it  had  been  fre 
quently  advanced  from  the  Democratic  side,  but  he 
followed  it  with  the  assertion  that,  in  the  conduct  of 


160  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  war  by  the  administration,  not  a  single  vestige  of 
the  constitution  remained  and  that  "  every  clause  and 
every  letter  of  it  had  been  violated."  Despairing  of 
a  restoration  of  the  Union  as  it  once  existed,  he  said: 
"  I  now  believe  there  are  but  two  alternatives ;  and 
they  are  either  an  acknowledgment  of  the  independence 
of  the  South  as  an  independent  nation  or  their  com 
plete  subjugation  and  extermination  as  a  people;  and, 
of  these  alternatives,  I  prefer  the  former." 

Garfield,  of  Ohio,  immediately  replied  in  an  impas 
sioned  speech  which  electrified  the  House.  He  char 
acterized  Long  as  a  Benedict  Arnold,  and  a  running 
debate  between  him  and  Long  followed,  which  lasted 
until  the  committee  rose  and  the  House  adjourned. 
Long's  speech  greatly  incensed  the  Republicans,  and 
there  was  a  general  feeling  that  action  should  be  taken 
to  condemn  such  sentiments. 

When  the  House  assembled  the  next  morning  (Sat 
urday)  a  motion  was  made  to  dispense  with  the  read 
ing  of  the  Journal,  which  was  carried.  Then  the 
Speaker,  calling  Rollins  to  the  chair,  took  the  floor  arid 
offered  a  resolution  for  the  expulsion  of  Long  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  violated  his  oath  of  office  by  "  giv 
ing  aid,  countenance,  and  encouragement  to  persons 
engaged  in  armed  hostility  to  the  United  States."  He 
followed  the  resolution  with  a  speech  sustaining  it. 
The  debate  then  became  general  and  continued  until 
the  following  Thursday,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
business.  The  Republicans  lined  up  in  favor  of  the 
resolution  and  the  Democrats  against  it.  The  debate 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        161 

was  participated  in  by  the  leaders  of  both  sides  and 
became  both  personal  and  acrimonious.  The  proceed 
ings  were  further  complicated  by  the  inflammatory 
utterances  of  Benjamin  G.  Harris,  a  Democratic 
member  from  Maryland.  Obtaining  the  floor,  he  pro 
claimed  that  he  endorsed  every  word  uttered  by  Long. 
Growing  more  vehement  as  he  proceeded,  he  exclaimed : 
"  The  South  asks  you  to  let  them  live  in  peace.  But, 
no,  you  said  you  would  bring  them  into  subjugation. 
This  is  not  done  yet.  God  Almighty  grant  it  may 
never  be.  I  hope  you  will  never  subjugate  the  South.7' 
Harris  was  immediately  called  to  order  by  Wash- 
burne,  of  Illinois,  who  demanded  that  his  words  bo 
taken  done  and  read  to  the  House.  This  was  done, 
and  the  Speaker  pro  lem,  upon  the  point  being  made, 
ruled  that  Harris  was  out  of  order  and  could  not  pro 
ceed.  Soon  after,  the  pending  question  of  the  pro 
posed  expulsion  of  Long  was  postponed  until  Monday, 
and  a  resolution  was  also  offered  expelling  Harris. 
~No  defence  of  Harris  was  undertaken  by  his  Demo 
cratic  associates,  but  they  made  points  of  order  against 
the  resolution  for  his  expulsion.  After  these  were  over 
ruled  by  the  chair,  the  resolution  came  to  a  vote.  It 
failed  of  the  constitutional  two-thirds,  the  Democrats 
voting  against  it.  Immediately  a  resolution  censuring 
Harris  was  introduced  and  carried,  only  eighteen 
Democrats  voting  against  it.  Then  the  House  ad 
journed  for  the  day.  On  Monday,  the  debate  was  re 
newed  and  continued  day  and  evening  without  inter 
ruption  except  for  adjournment  until  the  final  vote  of 


162  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Thursday.  The  alignment  on  the  Harris  resolution 
showed  that  no  Democratic  votes  could  be  secured  to 
expel  Long.  So  a  substitute  resolution  was  offered  as 
follows : 

"  Etesolved}  That  Alexander  Long,  a  Representative 
from  the  second  district  of  Ohio,  be  and  he  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  an  unworthy  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives." 

A  point  of  order  was  made  against  the  substitute, 
which  was  overruled  by  the  chair  and  his  decision  sus 
tained  by  the  House  on  appeal.  This  resolution  was 
finally  adopted  by  a  strict  party  vote. 

During  the  debate,  Rollins,  as  Speaker  pro  tern,  was 
frequently  called  to  rule  on  points. of  order  made  by 
the  minority,  which  he  did  with  prompt  decision. 
Only  once  was  an  appeal  taken  from  his  decision  and 
that  in  the  case  referred  to.  The  galleries  were 
crowded  during  these  days,  and  the  House  was  often 
in  a  turmoil.  It  was  a  trying  ordeal  for  the  presiding 
officer,  and,  as  the  records  show,  Rollins  acquitted  him 
self  with  credit  and  justified  his  selection  by  the 
Speaker.  He  had  previously  presided  in  committee  of 
the  whole,  and  Speaker  Colfax  had  opportunities  of 
judging  of  his  qualifications  for  the  chair.  Ready 
knowledge  of  the  rules  and  quick  decisions  were  re 
quired  in  this  partisan  debate,  and  Rollins  showed  that 
he  was  not  only  well  acquainted  with  parliamentary 
practice  but  was  ready  in  his  application  of  it. 

The  New  Hampshire  Statesman  of  April  29,  1864, 
made  this  comment :  "  New  Hampshire  Congressmen 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        163 

seem  to  be  in  great  favor  as  presiding  officers.  Mr. 
Rollins  presided  in  the  House  to  universal  acceptance 
during  the  stormy  debate  in  the  matter  of  the  expulsion 
of  Mr.  Long,  of  Ohio,  and,  about  the  same  time,  Mr. 
Clark  was  temporary  presiding  officer  in  the  Senate. 
Since  then,  Vice-President  liamlin  gave  notice  of  in 
tended  absence  the  remainder  of  the  session,  and 
Mr.  Clark  was  chosen  President  pro  tern  of  the  Sen 
ate." 

Just  prior  to  this  occurrence,  another  political  cam 
paign  was  fought  in  New  Hampshire.  Large  national 
interest  centred  in  the  State  election  of  March,  1864, 
although  no  Congressmen  were  to  be  chosen.  It  was 
the  first  election  in  the  Presidential  year.  Candidates 
for  President  were  being  discussed,  especially  by  the 
Republican  party.  Would  New  Hampshire  Republi 
cans  endorse  the  candidacy  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
reelection  ?  And,  if  so,  would  the  New  Hampshire 
election  about  to  follow  presage  a  national  Republican 
triumph  ?  There  were  Republican  leaders  in  the  coun 
try  who  doubted  the  policy  of  renominating  Lincoln. 
The  opposition  to  his  selection  as  a  standard-bearer 
was  already  expressing  itself  in  the  press  and  in  the 
utterances  of  influential  Republicans.  Both  the  ac 
tion  of  the  Republican  convention  of  New  Hampshire 
and  the  forthcoming  election  were  of  especial  interest 
to  Lincoln  himself.  If  the  convention  favored  his  can 
didacy,  and  the  Republicans  carried  the  State  by  a 
good  majority,  the  attitude  of  New  England  in  the 
Presidential  contest  would  be  settled.  These  results 


164  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

would  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  action  of 
Republican  conventions  in  other  doubtful  States. 

That  Lincoln  awaited  the  result  in  New  Hampshire 
with  solicitous  interest  is  \vell  known.  No  outsider 
knew  better  than  he  the  strenuous  contest  waged  by 
the  Republicans  of  the  Granite  State.  Nor  was  he 
lacking  in  appreciation  of  the  loyalty  to  his  adminis 
tration  of  the  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire.  To 
their  requests  made  to  him  through  Rollins  and  other 
representatives  of  the  State  at  the  capital,  he  was  ever 
a  patient  and  responsive  listener.  With  Rollins,  who 
was  the  creator  and  representative  of  the  effective  Re 
publican  organization  of  the  State,  and  who  in  Con 
gress  bent  all  his  energy  to  the  support  of  the  admin 
istration,  he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy. 

New  Hampshire  never  had  greater  importance  in 
national  politics  than  during  Lincoln's  administration. 
The  Republicans  of  the  State  had  at  no  time  failed  the 
hope  of  the  administration.  The  last  election  had  been 
won  by  a  narrow  margin,  but,  with  the  exception  of 
the  loss  of  one  Congressman,  all  the  fruits  of  the  vic 
tory  were  with  the  Republicans.  Seven  of  the  ten  del 
egates  from  New  Hampshire  to  the  Chicago  convention 
had  voted  for  Lincoln's  first  nomination.  In  the  main, 
the  Republican  leaders  in  the  State  approved  of  the 
acts  of  his  administration,  but,  as  in  other  States, 
there  were  some  who  doubted  the  policy  of  his  renom- 
ination,  or  of  his  endorsement  at  a  State  convention 
preceding  the  one  to  choose  delegates  to  the  national 
convention.  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway,  now  rec- 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        165 

ognized  as  "  the  triumvirate,"  potential  in  shaping 
Republican  policies  in  the  State,  were  outspoken  for 
the  endorsement  of  Lincoln  and  in  favor  of  New 
Hampshire  leading  the  way.  Both  Eollins  and  Ord- 
way  were  detained  in  Washington  by  their  duties 
there,  and  the  leadership  of  the  administration  forces 
devolved  upon  Chandler. 

William  E.  Chandler  was  then  twenty-eight  years 
of  age,  having  served  one  term  as  Speaker  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives,  the  youngest 
occupant  of  that  position  in  the  history  of  the  State. 
Before  he  was  of  age,  he  was  active  in  politics,  doing 
much  of  the  literary  work  of  the  State  committee  prior 
to  his  appointment  as  its  secretary.  From  the  time  of 
his  entrance  into  politics,  for  a  period  of  forty-five 
years,  his  influence  was  felt  in  all  the  shifting  scenes 
of  New  Hampshire  politics,  and,  for  a  greater  part  of 
this  time,  he  was  the  most  striking  personality  in  the 
State.  No  man  in  New  Hampshire  more  thoroughly 
enjoyed  the  turmoil  of  political  strife.  None  possessed 
greater  courage,  and  none  made  more  bitter  enemies 
or  more  earnest  friends.  He  was  always  in  the  thick 
of  the  fray,  attacking  or  defending,  giving  or  parrying 
blows.  He  spared  not  the  feelings  of  friends  in  his 
encounters  if  these  friends  stood  across  his  path.  Yet 
his  success  was  due  to  his  faculty  of  reconciling  to  his 
personal  interests  those  whom  he  had  angered  by  his 
caustic  criticism.  No  politician  of  the  State  ever  had 
so  many  ups  and  downs,  and  none  had  so  many  obitu 
aries  written  on  the  passing  of  his  political  career.  He 


166  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

won  the  highest  honors  of  the  State,  compelling  sup 
port  from  many  through  admiration  for  his  ability. 

The  Republican  State  convention  to  nominate  a  can 
didate  for  governor  met  January  6,  1864,  and  was  pre 
sided  over  by  Mason  W.  Tappan.  Governor  Gilmore 
was  renominated  by  acclamation.  His  administration 
had  been  successful  and  opposition  to  his  nomination, 
so  pronounced  the  year  before,  had  entirely  disap 
peared.  The  platform  was  reported  by  Aaron  H. 
Cragin.  It  contained  no  endorsement  of  Lincoln  for 
renomination.  The  committee,  desiring  to  be  conserv 
ative,  had  listened  to  the  advice  of  those  who,  while 
admitting  the  probability  of  Lincoln's  becoming  the 
Presidential  nominee,  did  not  wish  to  take  premature 
action.  Another  convention  to  choose  delegates  to  the 
national  convention  would  be  held  in  a  few  months, 
and  to  that  convention  more  properly  belonged  the  ex 
pression  of  views  as  to  a  Presidential  candidate.  The 
events  of  the  next  few  months  growing  out  of  the  prog 
ress  of  the  war  might  present  a  clearer  view  of  the  best 
course  to  pursue. 

Although  the  failure  of  the  committee  to  report  a 
plank  in  the  platform  endorsing  Lincoln's  candidacy 
came  as  a  surprise  to  the  convention,  the  platform 
was  adopted  without  dissent.  Immediately  after  its 
adoption,  Chandler,  against  the  advice  of  older  men, 
presented  a  resolution  declaring  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
be  the  people's  choice  for  President  in  1864.  Without 
debate,  it  passed  unanimously  amid  great  enthusiasm, 
showing,  that  while  some  of  the  leaders  hesitated,  the 


IN    THE   THIETY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS         167 

rank  and  file  of  the  Republican  party  in  New  Hamp 
shire  were  ready  and  anxious  to  express  their  choice. 

The  Eepublican  platform  endorsed  the  administra 
tion  of  Lincoln,  opposed  any  proposition  of  peace  so 
long  as  there  was  found  a  rebel  in  arms  against  the 
government,  and  expressed  confidence  in  the  financial 
ability  of  Secretary  Salmon  P.  Chase. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  followed  two  days 
after  the  Republican  convention.  It  was  presided  over 
by  William  H.  Duncan,  of  Hanover.  Ira  A.  Eastman 
having  signified  to  the  party  that  he  did  not  desire  a 
second  nomination,  a  ballot  was  taken  for  a  candidate 
for  governor.  Edward  W.  Harrington,  of  Manchester, 
received  518  votes  of  the  535  cast,  and  his  nomination 
was  made  unanimous.  The  platform  denounced  the 
financial  policy  of  the  Republican  administration,  de 
clared  its  plan  of  emancipation  of  the  negro  to  be  "  un 
wise,  impolitic,  cruel,  and  unworthy  the  support  of  a 
civilized  and  Christian  people,"  and  maintained  that 
the  war  should  be  conducted  solely  for  the  restoration 
of  the  Union. 

The  campaign  lacked  none  of  the  intensity  of  previ 
ous  campaigns.  It  was  fought  wholly  on  the  war 
issues.  Both  parties  called  to  their  aid  speakers  from 
other  States.  For  the  Democrats,  there  came  William 
W.  Eaton,  afterward  United  States  Senator,  and 
James  Gallagher,  of  Connecticut,  A.  Oakey  Hall  and 
John  M.  Harrington,  of  New  York,  and  William  D. 
Northend,  of  Massachusetts. 

Assisting  the  Republicans  were  Gen.  E.  W.  Gantt, 


168  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

of  Arkansas,  who  had  serve'd  in  the  Confederate  army 
and  recently  renounced  his  allegiance  to  that  cause, 
Frederick  Montgomery,  of  Virginia,  Paul  Dillingham, 
of  Vermont,  Kichard  Busteed,  A.  H.  Chase,  Kufus  F. 
Andrews,  of  New  York,  Mark  II.  Dunnell  and  Lewis 
Barker,  of  Maine,  E.  W.  Hincks,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
William  C.  Doane,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

How  the  Republicans  regarded  the  campaign  may 
be  judged  by  the  following  extract  from  an  address  to 
the  voters  of  New  Hampshire  issued  by  the  chairman 
of  the  Republican  State  committee: 

"  Union  Citizens  of  New  Hampshire :  —  -  The  elec 
tion  of  this  year  possesses  more  national  importance 
than  that  of  any  previous  year.  A  triumph  of  the  so- 
called  Democracy  would  be  hailed  with  rejoicing  by 
Jefferson  Davis  and  every  other  rebel  leader ;  it  would 
afford  aid  and  comfort  to  traitors  in  arms ;  and  by  its 
effect  upon  the  Presidential  campaign  would  do  more 
to  prolong  the  war  than  a  rebel  victory  in  the  field. 

"  A  victory  of  the  Unionists  of  the  State  would 
rejoice  the  hearts  of  the  friends  of  the  government  — 
of  union  and  liberty  everywhere,  and  would  discour 
age  and  dishearten  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  because 
it  would  be  a  certain  indication  of  the  choice  of  a 
Union  Republican  President  at  the  ensuing  election. 

"  The  chief  hope  of  the  rebels  is  now,  as  heretofore, 
in  a  division  of  sentiment  in  the  North.  Proclaim  to 
them  that  they  cannot  by  prolonging  the  war  gain  the 
privilege  of  negotiating  with  men  in  power  at  the 
North  who  have  been  during  the  whole  struggle  sym- 


IN    THE    THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS         169 

pathizers  with  the  rebellion,  and  every  reason  for  pro 
longing  a  hopeless  struggle  is  at  an  end;  the  advance 
of  our  armies  will  result  in  the  submission  of  the 
people  of  the  seceded  States  to  the  power  of  the  na 
tional  government,  and  substantial  peace  may  be  ob 
tained  within  the  present  year." 

The  vote  was  larger  by  nearly  two  thousand  than  the 
previous  year  and  the  result  a  great  Republican  vic 
tory.  The  Republican  majority  for  governor  approxi 
mated  six  thousand.  Such  a  majority  had  not  been 
equalled  in  New  Hampshire  since  the  Presidential 
election  of  1860.  It  was  a  surprise  to  both  Republi 
cans  and  Democrats.  The  Patriot  attributed  it  to 
Republican  soldiers  from  New  Hampshire  home  on 
furlough.  The  official  vote  was :  Scattering,  79 ;  Ed 
ward  W.  Harrington,  31,340 ;  Joseph  A.  Gilmore, 
37,006. 

Following  closely  after  the  March  election  came  the 
Republican  convention  to  elect  delegates  to  the  Repub 
lican  "  national  convention,  to  be  held  at  Baltimore. 
There  was  no  question  now  as  to  the  candidate  for 
President  whom  the  New  Hampshire  delegates  would 
support.  The  interest  in  the  convention  was  in  the 
personnel  of  the  delegates,  and  there  was  a  large  num 
ber  of  candidates.  William  E.  Chandler,  as  chairman 
of  the  State  committee,  called  the  convention  to  order, 
and  William  Haile,  of  Hinsdale,  presided.  A  ballot 
was  taken  for  four  delegates  at  large,  with  the  result 
that  Onslow  Stearns,  of  Concord,  John  B.  Clarke,  of 
Manchester,  William  Haile,  of  Hinsdale,  and  Thomas 


170  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

E.  Sawyer,  of  Dover,  were  elected.  As  district  del 
egates  Benjamin  J.  Cole,  of  Gilford,  and  Joseph  B. 
Adams,  of  Portsmouth,  were  chosen  from  the  first  dis 
trict;  Edward  Spalding,  of  Nashua,  and  David  Cross, 
of  Manchester,  from  the  second;  and  Shepard  L. 
Bowers,  of  Newport,  and  Enoch  L.  Colby,  of  Lan 
caster,  from  the  third. 

John  B.  Clarke,  who  was  one  of  the  delegates  at 
large,  was  the  proprietor  of  the  Manchester  Mirror, 
a  newspaper  with  both  a  daily  and  a  weekly  edition, 
the  latter  of  large  circulation.  Of  genial  temperament 
and  original  ideas,  he  had  already  made  his  impress 
upon  the  people  of  the  State.  Through  his  newspaper 
he  continued  until  his  death  to  exert  a  large  influence 
in  New  Hampshire  politics. 

Of  the  other  delegates  Haile  had  been  governor  of 
the  State,  Stearns  was  president  of  the  State  Senate, 
Cross  was  the  most  prominent  candidate  for  Congress 
to  succeed  Rollins,  Cole  was  then  and  for  years  after 
the  leading  Republican  in  his  section  of  the  State,  and 
Sawyer  was  an  influential  citizen  of  Strafford  County. 
At  the  next  election  Sawyer  became  the  candidate  for 
Congress  in  the  first  district  of  the  Republicans  who 
bolted  the  renomination  of  Oilman  Marston. 

Upon  the  legislature  which  convened  in  June,  1864, 
devolved  the  duty  of  electing  a  successor  to  Senator 
John  P.  Hale,  whose  term  would  expire  with  the 
thirty-eighth  Congress.  The  reputation  that  Rollins 
had  made  as  a  Congressman  led  a  large  number  of  his 
friends  to  suggest  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  Senate. 


IN   THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS         171 

Other  avowed  candidates  were  John  P.  Hale,  Aaron 
H.  Cragin,  Oilman  Marston,  Amos  Tuck,  and  Thomas 
M.  Edwards.  It  was  apparent,  with  so  many  strong 
candidates,  that  no  one  could  have  anywhere  near  a 
majority  on  the  first  ballot.  The  outcome  of  the  cau 
cus,  therefore,  was  doubtful,  and  the  interest  was  in 
tense  until  the  ballot  was  taken.  So  far  as  Rollins' s 
candidacy  was  concerned,  it  was  embarrassed  by  the 
State-house  contest,  which  had  become  acute  through 
the  offer  of  Manchester  citizens  to  give  a  large  sum 
of  money  sufficient  to  build  a  new  State-house,  pro 
vided  the  capital  of  the  State  was  transferred  from 
Concord  to  Manchester.  The  question  came  up  at  this 
time  because  of  the  necessity  of  enlarging  and  repair 
ing  the  State-house.  It  was  recognized  as  a  life  and 
death  struggle  of  the  citizens  of  Concord  to  maintain 
their  city  as  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  civic  pride 
called  for  the  sacrifice  of  all  personal  ambition  to 
the  attainment  of  this  end.  If  Concord  secured  the 
United  States  Senator  as  the  result  of  what  was  a 
strenuous  contest,  there  would  follow  in  the  wake  per 
sonal  disappointment  that  might  count  against  the 
capital  city.  Rollins's  love  of  Concord  was  second  to 
that  of  no  other  citizen.  The  city  had  been  his  home 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  Here  he  had  begun  business 
for  himself,  and  here  was  the  scene  of  all  his  early 
triumphs  in  politics.  As  the  time  approached  for  the 
meeting  of  the  legislature,  it  became  apparent  both  to 
him  and  to  Chandler,  who  was  interested  in  his  Sen 
atorial  canvass,  that  his  candidacy  would  militate 


172  LIFE   OF  EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

against  Concord's  interests.  They  both  concluded  that 
it  would  not  be  wise  to  present  Rollins' s  name  to  the 
Senatorial  caucus.  But,  that  his  withdrawal  might 
count  as  much  as  possible  for  Concord's  benefit,  he  con 
tinued  a  candidate  until  the  night  of  the  caucus. 
Just  before  the  ballot  was  taken,  Chandler  withdrew 
Rollins's  name.  Five  ballots  were  necessary  to  secure 
a  choice.1 

Tuck's  name  was  withdrawn  after  the  third  ballot, 
and  his  support  went  to  Cragin  in  preference  to  Mars- 
ton.  John  H.  George  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  Senator. 

The  Presidential  campaign  was  not  a  long  one.  Not 
much  doubt  was  entertained  by  Republicans  of  the  re 
sult  in  New  Hampshire.  Their  majority  in  the  spring 
election  seemed  too  large  for  the  Democrats  to  over 
come,  yet  the  Democratic  party  made  a  determined 
effort  to  carry  the  State.  Rollins  entered  this  cam 
paign  with  enthusiasm,  it  being  the  first  in  which  he 
had  personally  participated  since  he  took  his  seat  in 
Congress.  He  made  many  speeches  throughout  the 
canvass,  besides  assisting  in  the  work  of  the  State  com 
mittee.  George  Thompson,  the  English  abolitionist, 

First  Second  Third   Fcmrth   Fifth 
1  Anthony  Colby,  of  New  London      1          1 

Ira  Perley,  of  Concord                        44  32 

Thomas  M.  Edwards,  of  Keene  24        19  91 

Amos  Tuck,  of  Exeter  32        37  27 

John  P.  Hale,  of  Dover  35        27  20        12 

Aaron  H.  Cragin,  of  Lebanon  49        68  72        97          126 

Oilman  Marston,  of  Exeter  57        59  73        89  76 


IN   THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        173 

Vice-President  Hamlin,  and  Edwin  C.  Bailey,  editor 
of  the  Boston  Herald,  took  part  in  the  campaign  for 
the  Eepublicans. 

The  Democrats  were  assisted  in  their  stump-speak 
ing  by  C.  T.  Russell,  William  D.  Northend,  Josiah 
G.  Abbot,  George  S.  Hilliard,  and  G.  H.  Devereau, 
of  Massachusetts,  C.  C.  Burr,  of  Connecticut,  and  A. 
M.  Dickey,  of  Vermont.  The  Republicans  were  suc 
cessful,  but  their  majority  was  much  smaller  than  in 
the  spring  election.1 

After  election,  Rollins  returned  to  Washington  to 
the  closing  session  of  the  thirty-eighth  Congress. 
Early  in  the  session,  he  introduced  a  resolution  of  in 
quiry  regarding  the  treatment  of  Union  prisoners  of 
war  in  the  Confederate  prisons,  with  instructions  to 
the  committee  on  military  affairs  to  report  upon  the 
expediency  of  providing  by  law  for  retaliation  if  such 
treatment  of  Union  prisoners  was  continued,  to  the 
end  that  the  Confederate  authorities  may  be  com 
pelled  to  treat  their  prisoners  according  to  the  rules 
and  usages  of  civilized  warfare.  The  resolution  was 
immediately  adopted,  but  the  next  day,  it  occasioned 
a  stirring  debate,  the  Democrats  claiming  that  they 
did  not  understand  the  purport  of  the  resolution  at 

1  The  official  vote  as  given  in  the  Statesman  of  December  2,  1864, 
is  as  follows : 

LINCOLN  MCCLELLAN 

Home  vote 34,382  32,200 

Soldier  vote 2,018  671 

Total,  36,400  32,871 


174  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  time  of  its  passage.  Other  resolutions  were  intro 
duced  during  the  debate,  and  the  whole  subject  was 
finally  referred  to  the  committee  on  military  affairs. 

It  was  during  this  session  that  an  assault  was  made 
upon  Congressman  William  D.  Kelley,  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  by  A.  P.  Field,  of  Louisiana,  who  claimed  a 
seat  in  the  House,  and  labored  under  the  impression 
that  Kelley's  influence  prevented  him  from  obtaining 
it.  The  assault  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
House,  and  a  select  committee,  of  which  Rollins  was 
one,  was  appointed  by  the  Speaker  to  investigate  and 
report.  After  inquiry,  they  reported  the  facts  to  the 
House,  and  Field  was  brought  to  the  bar  of  the  House, 
and  reprimanded  by  the  Speaker. 

The  calls  upon  Rollins  on  the  part  of-  soldiers  and 
their  families  were  not  confined  to  members  of  his 
party,  nor  did  he  show  party  preference  in  responding 
to  them.  All  the  people  of  New  Hampshire  were  his 
constituents,  and  he  gave  to  each  his  best  effort.  In 
the  midst  of  the  political  campaign  of  1863,  when  the 
Democrats  of  the  State  were  making  strenuous  efforts 
to  defeat  his  reelection,  he  received  a  letter  from  Ira 
A.  Eastman,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor 
that  year,  in  behalf  of  a  New  Hampshire  soldier  con 
victed  of  desertion  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  East 
man's  letter  is  a  type  of  many  he  received  and  is 
expressive  of  the  faith  that  both  Democrats  and 
Republicans  entertained  of  his  potential  influence. 
Eastman  writes: 

"  I  learn  that  you  have  interested  yourself  to  pro- 


IN   THE   THIRTY  -  EIGHTH    CONGRESS        175 

cure  commutation  of  the  sentence  of  Private , 

Tenth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and  that  the  Pres 
ident  has  or  will  reprieve  him  preliminary  to  commut 
ing  his  sentence.  I  believe  the  governor  sent  the  appli 
cation  for  his  commutation  and  you  presented  it  to 
the  President.  If  so,  you  saw  the  facts  of  the  case. 
It  should  be  especially  borne  in  mind  that  he  was  a 
volunteer  who  enlisted  in  1862  without  any  of  the 
large  bounties.  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that 
at  the  time  of  his  desertion  the  offence  was  a  very  com 
mon  one,  and  not  severely  punished.  Had  he  deserted 
within  the  last  few  months,  it  would  be  a  very  differ 
ent  matter.  His  wife  is  a  very  reputable,  well-appear 
ing  woman,  and  has  one  or  two  children.  Of  course, 
she  is  deeply  interested  in  his  welfare,  as  well  as  his 
other  friends.  I  hope  you  will  see  to  it  that  there  is 
no  mistake  about  the  matter.  The  life  of  a  man  is  of 
some  consequence  to  his  friends  at  least,  and,  if  he  is 
released,  he  will,  no  doubt,  make  a  good  soldier.  He 
must  have  suffered  much  with  this  sentence  hanging 
over  him.  I  have  told  his  friends  that  I  have  no  doubt 
that  you  will  look  close  to  it  so  as  to  save  him." 

The  endorsement  on  the  letter  in  Rolling's  hand 
writing  is  "  A  general  order  issued  when  first  applica 
tion  made  to  suspend  sentence  in  Butler's  district. 
Have  now  had  a  special  order  sent  by  telegraph  in 
this  case  and  there  is  no  doubt." 


CHAPTEK   X. 

THIRD    ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS 

THE  Democratic  party  had  been  so  thoroughly 
beaten  in  the  Presidential  campaign  that  it  was  im 
possible  for  its  leaders  in  New  Hampshire  to  evoke 
much  enthusiasm  among  the  rank  and  file  in  the  spring 
campaign  of  1865.  Both  leaders  and  followers  were 
too  dispirited  to  take  advantage  of  Republican  dis 
sensions,  of  which  there  was  soon  to  be  abundant  evi 
dence.  Then  again,  it  was  difficult  for  the  party  to 
abandon  wholly  the  theories  and  principles  for  which 
it  had  fought  for  so  long  a  time.  The  Democratic 
party  did  not,  and  could  not,  arise  to  its  opportunity  in 
this  campaign. 

The  Republican  Congressional  conventions  in  the 
first  and  second  districts  were  held  December  21,  1864. 
In  the  first  district  Marston  was  again  a  candidate 
for  renomination.  There  was  strong  opposition,  es 
pecially  among  the  supporters  of  Eastman,  the  can 
didate  of  two  years  before,  who  had  charged  his  defeat 
at  the  polls  to  the  indifference  of  Marston.  Eastman 
was  not  again  a  candidate,  but  the  opponents  of  Mars- 
ton  concentrated  largely  on  Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  of 

176 


THIRD   ELECTION   TO   CONGRESS  177 

Dover.  Only  one  ballot  was  necessary  for  a  choice. 
The  votes  of  the  delegates  were  distributed  as  follows : 
Benjamin  J.  Cole,  of  Gilford,  7;  Jacob  H.  Ela,  of 
Rochester,  10 ;  John  D.  Lyman,  of  Earmington,  19 ; 
Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  of  Dover,  72 ;  Oilman  Marston, 
of  Exeter,  135. 

Dissatisfaction  with  the  nomination  at  once  made 
itself  manifest,  and  charges  were  openly  made  that  it 
had  been  brought  about  by  unfair  means  and  by  the 
pernicious  activity  of  federal  office-holders.  Immedi 
ate  steps  were  taken  to  call  another  convention.  An 
address  was  issued  to  the  Republicans  of  the  district 
charging  that  the  will  of  the  party  had  been  de 
feated  by  methods  deserving  rebuke.  There  were  also 
arrangements  made  for  holding  a  bolting  convention 
at  Dover.  The  Monitor  and  its  .weekly,  the  Inde 
pendent  Democrat,  gave  encouragement  to  the  bolt  by 
not  only  publishing  the  address  but  also  by  favorable 
comment  thereon.  The  convention  at  Dover  nom 
inated  Thomas  E.  Sawyer  of  that  city,  who  accepted 
the  nomination.  Among  the  reasons  advanced  for  the 
defeat  of  Marston  was  the  fact  that  he  had  had  two 
terms  in  Congress,  which  at  that  time  and  for  years 
after  was  looked  upon  by  many  people  of  the  State  as 
the  full  complement  to  be  given  a  Congressional  can 
didate. 

Rollins,  in  seeking  a  third  nomination,  had  this  ro 
tation  theory  to  overcome.  He  himself  had  been  a 
candidate  against  Mason  W.  Tappan,  in  1859,  when 
the  latter  was  seeking  a  third  nomination,  and  had 


178  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

withdrawn  only  after  an  informal  ballot  showed  Tap- 
pan  largely  in  the  lead.  He  had  been  an  advocate  of 
rotation,  and  continued  so  when  later  he  aspired  to 
the  Senate.  A  formidable  candidate  had  arisen  in  the 
rival  city  of  Manchester.  David  Cross,  who  was  voted 
for  in  the  convention  of  1859,  and  strongly  supported 
in  the  convention  of  1861,  was  seeking  the  nomination 
in  this  district.  Rotation  would  send  the  nomination 
to  Manchester.  Nor  was  this  the  only  contest  between 
these  two  cities,  whose  rivalry  for  so  many  years  in 
terfered  with  political  ambitions.  There  were  two 
active  candidates  for  gubernatorial  honors,  Frederick 
Smyth,  of  Manchester,  and  Onslow  Stearns,  of  Con 
cord.  The  holding  of  the  Congressional  convention 
ahead  of  the  State  convention  is  quite  likely  to  have 
been  part  of  Rollins's  plan  to  secure  for  himself  in 
the  division  of  prizes  the  one  going  to  Concord.  The 
Democratic  Patriot  later  charged  that  he  was  respon 
sible  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  going  to  Man 
chester. 

The  election  of  delegates  to  the  second  Congressional 
convention  showed  that  the  contest  between  Rollins 
and  Cross  would  be  close.  The  personal  popularity 
of  Cross  and  the  rotation  principle  seemed  likely 
to  outweigh  the  advantages  to  the  State  of  keeping  an 
experienced  legislator  in  Congress.  Just  before  the 
convention,  however,  an  adjustment  of  the  contest  was 
arranged  by  the  mutual  friends  of  Rollins  and  Cross. 
The  pension  agency  for  New  Hampshire  was  then  a 
lucrative  office.  Its  emoluments  were  greater  than  the 


THIRD   ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  179 

salary  of  a  Congressman.  A  lawyer  holding  this  place 
could  at  that  time  still  keep  in  touch  with  his  clients, 
and  not  entirely  neglect  his  practice,  which  was  not 
possible  if  he  were  serving  in  Congress.  This  phase 
of  the  case  appealed  to  Cross,  and  he  virtually  with 
drew  from  the  Congressional  race  to  become  a  success 
ful  candidate  for  the  pension  agency,  a  change  of  am 
bition  he  has  repeatedly  said  he  never  regretted. 

David  Cross's  political  activities  pertain  to  almost 
three  generations  of  contemporaries.  So  well  pre 
served  is  he  to-day  (1906)  that  he  seems  to  have  all 
the  elasticity  of  a  man  in  middle  life.  Yet,  he  was 
first  a  candidate  for  Congress  forty-seven  years  ago, 
and  was  influential  in  Whig  politics  at  an  earlier  date. 
Giving  up  political  ambition  after  he  accepted  the 
pension  agency,  his  life-work  has  been  in  his  profes 
sion,  where  he  has  ranked  among  the  leaders  both  as 
a  counsellor  and  as  an  advocate.  ISTow  the  ISTestor  of 
the  bar  of  the  State,  he  is  regarded  with  filial  affection 
by  all  his  juniors  in  the  profession.  This  attachment 
is  but  a  just  return,  for  his  whole  life  has  been  one 
of  helpfulness  to  young  and  struggling  attorneys. 
Although  not  aspiring  to  office,  he  has  most  cheer 
fully  responded  at  all  times  to  calls  for  party  work. 
His  active  campaigning  covers  quite  half  a  century. 
His  last  public  service  was  as  a  member  of  the  con 
stitutional  convention  of  1902. 

The  Congressional  convention  for  the  second  dis 
trict  was  held  at  Manchester  and  was  largely  attended. 
An  informal  ballot  showed  fifty-five  votes  for  Cross 


180  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  for  Rollins.  The 
name  of  Cross  was  then  withdrawn,  and  the  nomina 
tion  of  Rollins  made  by  acclamation.  The  convention 
then  adopted  the  following  resolution: 

"  Resolved,  That  Edward  H.  Rollins  has  by  his  em 
inently  patriotic  and  laborious  endeavors,  and  by  his 
faithful  service  for  the  country  in  most  trying  and 
difficult  circumstances  during  his  four  years  of  public 
record,  proved  himself  a  most  talented  and  useful  legis 
lator  and  a  representative  whose  influence,  labors,  and 
experience  can  be  regarded  as  indispensable  in  the 
present  juncture  of  our  affairs,  and  we  heartily  com 
mend  him  to  the  voters  of  the  district." 

The  Democratic  newspapers  of  the  State  assailed 
the  nomination  with  vehemence.  The  Union,  of  Man 
chester,  attributed  it  to  the  power  of  the  "  apothecary 
shop  "  to  manipulate  things.  The  Patriot  said : 

"  The  renomination  of  Rollins  was  expected,  for  it 
had  been  fixed  beforehand.  The  administration  acts 
generally  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's  theory  that  it  is  bad  pol 
icy  to  swap  horses  while  crossing  a  stream.  Having 
proved  Rollins  and  found  him  to  be  reliable,  always 
ready  to  do  its  work  without  question  as  to  its  char 
acter  or  tendency,  it  deemed  it  best  to  retain  him  two 
years  longer,  and,  therefore,  gave  him  the  power  to 
secure  his  own  nomination.  .  .  .  The  nomination  was 
virtually  made  at  Washington.  Every  intelligent  man 
knows  that  the  unbiassed  action  of  the  Republican 
party  of  the  district  would  have  resulted  in  a  very  dif 
ferent  manner,  but  Rollins  had  the  patronage  of  the 


THIRD   ELECTION   TO   CONGRESS  181 

administration  at  his  bestowal,  and  that  was  used  to 
effect  the  desired  result." 

The  Statesman  said: 

"  Edward  H.  Rollins  was  placed  in  nomination  for 
a  third  term  of  service  as  a  member  of  Congress  by 
the  cordial  and  unanimous  vote  of  a  convention  of 
nearly  two  hundred  members.  This  is  a  procedure 
in  the  highest  degree  creditable  to  the  convention,  and 
took  place  under  circumstances  which  cannot  but  be 
very  gratifying  to  the  intelligent,  efficient,  and  labori 
ous  member  from  the  second  district  of  our  State.  A 
complimentary  vote  was  given  to  David  Cross,  of  Man 
chester,  a  gentleman  for  whom  men  of  all  parties  en 
tertain  deep  respect  for  his  high  personal  character, 
and  who  has  secured  the  universal  regard  of  the  Re 
publican  party  for  effective  service  rendered  the  cause 
at  home  and  abroad." 

Patterson  was  renominated  in  the  third  district  by 
acclamation. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  January 
4,  1865.  It  was  called  to  order  by  Nehemiah  G.  Ord- 
way  in  the  absence  of  William  E.  Chandler,  chairman 
of  the  Republican  State  committee.  Nathaniel  G. 
Upham,  of  Concord,  presided.  The  platform,  reported 
by  Austin  F.  Pike,  pledged  the  party  anew  to  a  vigor 
ous  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  declared  for  the  com 
plete  extermination  of  slavery  from  the  soil  of  the 
republic.  The  nomination  of  Rollins  for  Congress 
precluded  the  possibility  of  the  gubernatorial  nomina 
tion  going  to  Concord,  but  the  friends  of  Stearns  clung 


182  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tenaciously  to  him  as  a  candidate.  The  ballot  showed 
445  votes  for  Frederick  Smyth,  221  for  Onslow 
Stearns,  8  for  Walter  Harriman,  and  6  for  Milan  W. 
Harris,  of  Dublin.  Smyth  was  declared  the  nominee. 

Frederick  Smyth,  whose  occupation  was  that  of  a 
banker,  was  an'  eminently  successful  business  man. 
He  had  been  mayor  of  Manchester,  and  had  served  in 
the  legislature.  A  product  of  the  school  of  stern  neces 
sity,  he  made  his  way  in  life  by  his  self-reliance,  fore 
seeing  opportunities,  and  taking  advantage  of  them. 
A  close  student  of  human  nature,  he  had  a  pleasing 
address,  and  possessed  those  attributes  which  contrib 
ute  to  personal  popularity.  Energetic  and  resource 
ful,  acting  where  others  hesitated,  he  made  a  success 
ful  chief  magistrate  at  a  time  when  large  executive 
ability  was  required. 

A  change  was  made  this  year  in  the  method  of  elect 
ing  a  State  committee.  The  Republicans  of  the  sev 
eral  counties  were  authorized  to  choose  committees  to 
work  within  the  counties.  The  chairmen  and  secre 
taries  of  the  county  organizations  constituted  ex 
officio  the  State  central  committee.  "  This  plan/'  re 
marked  the  Statesman,  "  will,  it  is  hoped,  remove  all 
complaint  of  *  central  cliques,7  '  Concord  dictation,' 
etc."  The  new  plan  survived  just  one  campaign. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  Janu 
ary  12,  1865.  Dr.  A.  P.  Stackpole,  of  Dover,  pre 
sided.  Edward  W.  Harrington,  of  Manchester,  was 
renominated  by  acclamation.  The  platform  was  very 
brief.  After  reciting  the  preamble  of  the  United 


THIRD   ELECTION   TO   CONGRESS  183 

States  constitution,  the  convention  resolved  "  That  the 
delegated  Democracy  of  New  Hampshire  in  conven 
tion  assembled  accept  as  a  platform  of  principles  the 
constitution  and  the  Union." 

After  the  convention  had  voted  to  accept  this  as  a 
declaration  of  principles,  a  commotion  was  created  by 
an  amendment  offered  endorsing  the  Kentucky  and 
Virginia  resolutions  of  1798  and  1799,  calling  for  a 
convention  of  States  for  the  adjustment  of  present 
troubles,  and  protesting  against  the  Kepublican  party's 
purpose  of  abolishing  slavery.  After  a  spirited  debate, 
the  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  73  yeas  to 
114  nays.  This  contest  over  the  platform  destroyed 
whatever  chance  the  Democratic  party  had  of  profit 
ing  by  Republican  dissensions. 

At  the  Democratic  Congressional  conventions, 
Daniel  Marcy  was  renominated  in  the  first  district, 
while  new  candidates  were  presented  in  both  the  sec 
ond  and  third  districts.  Lewis  W.  Clark,  of  Man 
chester,  was  selected  in  the  second  district,  and  Harry 
Bingham,  of  Littleton,  in  the  third. 

Rollins's  opponent,  Lewis  W.  Clark,  was  a  brilliant 
man  of  fine  legal  attainments.  He  stood  well  at  the 
bar,  was  a  pleasing  speaker  and  personally  popular. 
He  afterward  became  attorney-general  of  the  State 
and  subsequently  was  appointed  to  its  supreme  bench, 
where  he  remained  until  retired  by  age  limitations. 
Although  a  Democrat  to  the  close  of  his  life,  both 
political  parties  had  confidence  in  him,  and  he  was 
made  chief  justice  by  a  Republican  governor  and 


184  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

council  with  the  entire  approval  of  the  people  of  the 
State. 

The  bolt  in  the  first  Congressional  district  encour 
aged  the  opposition  to  Rollins  to  attempt  like  action 
in  the  second  district.  Stearns  regarded  his  defeat  for 
the  gubernatorial  nomination  as  due  to  Rollins's  third 
nomination  for  Congress,  and  was  lukewarm  even  if 
not  opposed  to  the  latter's  election.  Governor  Gilmore, 
who  was  at  odds  with  the  Republican  party  over  the 
soldiers'  voting  bill,  which  was  passed  by  the  previous 
legislature,  and  which  he  attempted  to  veto,  was  es 
pecially  hostile  to  Rollins  and  Ordway.  At  his  in 
stigation,  a  meeting  of  Republicans  was  called  at  Con 
cord  to  determine  whether  action  should  be  taken  to 
bolt  the  nomination.  Many  of  those  opposed  to  Rollins 
were  invited  to  the  meeting  by  Gilmore.  Chandler 
invited  others  friendly  to  Rollins.  Gilmore  inform 
ally  presided  at  the  meeting  and  called  for  opinions. 
These  were  given,  and,  while  some  were  in  favor  of 
taking  formal  action,  no  one  was  ready  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  contributing  to  the  election  of  Clark. 
The  project  failed  largely  through  the  efforts  of 
Chandler,  assisted  by  Austin  F.  Pike,  who  was  then 
chairman  of  the  State  committee. 

The  campaign  was  not  enlivened  by  much  speaking 
on  either  side.  Few  local  speakers  took  part.  A  few 
meetings  were  arranged  by  the  Republicans,  which 
were  addressed  by  Dr.  George  B.  Loring,  of  Massachu 
setts,  William  C.  Doane,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and 
Edward  McPherson,  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Statesman 


THIRD   ELECTION    TO    CONGRESS  185 

commentQd  upon  the  quietness  of  the  canvass  and  oc 
casionally  warned  the  Republicans  not  to  be  caught 
napping.  The  Monitor  and  Independent  Democrat 
voiced  a  dissatisfaction  which  was  felt  by  disappointed 
candidates,  their  friends  and  others  who  thought  that 
Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway  had  too  much  to  do 
with  shaping  the  affairs  of  the  party.  So  independent 
were  these  two  newspapers  that  talk  was  made  of  start 
ing  at  the  capital  an  administration  daily.  Referring 
to  a  report  of  this,  the  Monitor  satirically  welcomed 
the  proposed  paper  and  boldly  disclaimed  being  an 
administration  organ.  It  said :  "  If,  in  the  first  Con 
gressional  district,  Oilman  Marston,  in  the  second  dis 
trict,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  and  in  the  State  at  large, 
Nehemiah  G.  Ordway  are  the  administration,  we  are 
not  an  administration  daily." 

The  Democratic  Patriot,  commenting  upon  the  situ 
ation,  said :  "  It  is  apparent  to  every  one  that  there 
is  much  dissatisfaction  among  Republicans  of  this  [the 
second]  district  and  that  many  of  those  who  finally 
vote  for  Rollins  will  do  so  with  great  reluctance  and, 
as  the  Monitor  says,  under  protest.  Indeed  that  paper 
declares  that  even  greater  dissatisfaction  exists  here 
than  in  the  first  district,  where  there  is  much  reason 
to  believe  the  abolition  candidate  will  be  defeated. 
The  Monitor  says  this  dissatisfaction  is  not  with  the 
principles  of  the  party,  but  with  the  men  who  claim 
to  be  the  exponents  of  those  principles  —  with  Rollins, 
Chandler,  and  Ordway,  in  fact." 

There  were   frequent    and    anxious    conferences   of 


186  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  Republican  leaders,  and  Rollins  was  in  constant 
correspondence  with  his  friends  in  the  district 
No  canvass  gave  any  indication  of  the  extent  of  the 
dissatisfaction.  The  canvass  put  out  by  the  Republi 
can  State  committee  showed  less  than  three  thousand 
majority.  The  committee  itself  was  far  from  san 
guine  of  attaining  even  this  majority.  Therefore,  the 
returns  came  in  as  a  happy  surprise.  The  Republican 
victory  was  overwhelming.  The  vote  for  governor  was 
as  follows :  Scattering,  57 ;  Edward  W.  Harrington, 
28,017;  Frederick  Smyth,  34,145. 

The  majority  exceeded  that  of  the  preceding  year 
on  a  much  lighter  vote.  The  Republican  majority  in 
the  legislature  was  very  large.  All  three  of  the  Repub 
lican  candidates  for  Congress  were  elected.  Marston 
had  fifteen  hundred  majority  in  the  first  district,  Rol 
lins  seventeen  hundred  in  the  second,  and  Patterson 
eighteen  hundred  in  the  third.  The  vote  for  Sawyer, 
the  bolting  Republican  candidate  in  the  first  district, 
was  but  about  five  hundred. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

IN    THE    THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS 

THE  national  events  immediately  following  the 
March  election  of  1865  in  New  Hampshire  obscured 
for  the  time  being  all  thoughts  of  politics.  In  quick 
succession  came  the  surrender  of  Lee,  the  assassination 
of  Lincoln,  and  the  final  collapse  of  the  confederacy. 
Rollins  was  in  Washington  at  the  time,  although  Con 
gress  had  adjourned.  He  was  one  of  the  few  who 
were  at  the  bedside  of  Lincoln  when  he  died,  and  he 
was  one  of  the  committee  accompanying  the  remains 
of  the  President  to  Illinois,  From  Lincoln's  home,  he 
returned  to  Concord,  to  remain  until  the  thirty-ninth 
Congress  should  assemble  in  the  following  December. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  last  official  signa 
ture  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Rollins  family.  About  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon 
of  April  14,  1865,  Rollins  called  upon  the  President 
to  secure  his  endorsement  on  a  petition  from  New 
Hampshire  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  Lin 
coln  had  finished  his  day's  business  and  left  his  office 
in  the  White  House,  going  up-stairs.  Cn  receiving 
Rollins's  card,  he  returned  to  meet  him.  Lincoln  took 

187 


188  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  petition  on  his  knee  and  wrote  his  endorsement, 
dated  it,  and  signed  his  name.  As  Rollins  took  his 
departure,  Lincoln  gave  orders  to  the  doorkeeper  to 
admit  no  one  to  the  White  House.  As  Lincoln's  as 
sassination  followed  that  evening,  Rollins  did  not  pre 
sent  the  petition,  but  kept  it  as  a  memento  of  the  mar 
tyred  President,  forwarding  the  request  of  his  New 
Hampshire  constituents  in  another  way.  A  few  years 
later  this  petition  was  shown  to  Schuyler  Colfax  by 
Senator  Rollins's  son,  Edward  W.  Rollins,  and  the  time 
and  circumstances  connected  with  the  President's  signa 
ture  related.  Colfax  said  that  it  was  undoubtedly  Lin 
coln's  last  signature,  as  he  dined  with  the  President 
that  night  and  after  dinner  escorted  him  to  the  carriage 
which  was  to  take  him  to  the  theatre.  Colfax  said  that 
while  he  was  at  the  White  House  in  the  evening  Lin 
coln  performed  no  official  act. 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         189 

The  time  intervening  between  the  assassination  of 
Lincoln  and  the  meeting  of  Congress  in  December  was 
a  period  of  mourning  for  the  martyred  President,  and 
of  speculation  as  to  the  policy  of  his  successor.  The 
question  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  South  was  over 
shadowing  all  else,  and  the  whole  country  watched 
every  move  and  utterance  of  Andrew  Johnson  with 
eager  interest.  He  was  a  Southern  man  and,  before 
the  war,  a  Democrat.  His  attitude  toward  the  South, 
now  that  peace  had  come,  was  unknown,  but  the  Re 
publican  leaders  were  hopeful  that  he  would  continue 
in  accord  with  the  party  that  elected  him,  and  this  hope 
was  not  fully  dispelled  until  after  Congress  had  assem 
bled. 

Rollins  was  sworn  in  for  the  third  time  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  House.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  on  accounts,  and  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  public  expenditures.  Marston  was  put  upon  the 
committees  on  military  affairs  and  mileage,  while  Pat 
terson  was  advanced  to  the  committee  on  foreign  af 
fairs.  The  committee  on  accounts  had  oversight  of 
the  expenditures  of  the  House  for  supplies  and  for 
salaries  of  employees.  To  keep  the  expenditures 
within  reasonable  limits  and  to  respond  to  the  constant 
request  of  members  for  increase  of  compensation  of 
their  friends  upon  the  pay-rolls  of  the  House  was  no 
easy  task.  At  times  the  House  in  an  economical  mood 
would  sit  down  hard  upon  the  report  of  the  committee 
for  a  necessary  expenditure,  while  at  others  Rollins 
had  to  fight  with  all  the  persistency  of  his  nature  some 


190  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

generous  impulse  of  members  to  increase  salaries  all 
along  the  line.  To  the  committee  on  public  expendi 
tures  was  assigned  various  investigations  of  the  larger 
custom-houses  and  alleged  frauds  in  the  internal  rev 
enue,  and  the  committee  was  kept  busy  a  good  share  of 
its  time. 

Rollins's  third  term  in  Congress  was  marked  by  the 
same  patient  industry,  close  attention  to  the  business 
of  the  House,  and  constant  activity  in  behalf  of  his  con 
stituents  that  characterized  his  previous  terms  of  serv 
ice.  Being  better  known,  the  demand  upon  his  time 
was  greater.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  the  District  of  Columbia  but  one  term,  giving  place 
in  the  thirty-eighth  Congress  to  Patterson,  his  col 
league  from  New  Hampshire,  but  he  continued  to  take 
an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  District,  which  the 
people  of  Washington  appreciated.  The  welfare  of 
the  recently  emancipated  slaves  of  the  District  engaged 
his  attention,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  contrib 
uting  by  his  efforts  to  the  improvement  of  their  con 
dition.  With  the  experience  that  comes  of  service  in 
the  House,  he  participated  more  frequently  in  debates, 
but  he  made  no  set  speech.  In  the  stormy  times  which 
followed  the  break  of  President  Johnson  with  the  Re 
publican  party,  Rollins  stood  firm  with  the  Republi 
can  leaders  in  opposing  the  policy  of  Johnson,  all  the 
time  watchful  of  opinion  in  New  Hampshire  and  ear 
nestly  at  work  to  keep  the  State  in  line  with  Republi 
can  principles. 

At  the  very  beginning  of  Johnson's  administration, 


IN    THE   THIRTY -NINTH    CONGRESS         191 

the  question  of  appointments  to  office  became  acute. 
Not  many  appointments  had  been  made  by  Lincoln 
in  his  second  term  prior  to  his  death.  New  Hamp 
shire  men  in  federal  position  were  desirous  of  remain 
ing.  Some  of  them,  like  Amos  Tuck  and  George  G. 
Fogg,  were  holding  important  offices.  The  advent  of 
Johnson  upset  all  plans  made  with  his  predecessor, 
and  it  early  developed  that  Johnson  had  preferences 
of  his  own  to  gratify.  So  long  as  the  latter  appeared 
to  act  with  the  Republicans,  Rollins  undertook  to 
assist  in  retaining  the  New  Hampshire  federal  offi 
cials  in  office.  As  more  was  expected  of  him  than  of 
other  members  of  the  delegation,  so  he  had  to  share 
a  larger  part  of  the  responsibility  for  failure.  No 
small  part  of  the  enmity  of  influential  Republicans 
in  New  Hampshire  which  he  incurred  dates  from  this 
period.  As  the  management  of  the  party  in  New 
Hampshire  was  attributed  to  Rollins,  Chandler,  and 
Ordway,  so  to  them  was  laid  the  blame  for  individual 
disappointments  of  office-holders  and  office-seekers. 
From  this  time  on,  the  attacks  upon  them  from  within 
the  party  became  more  pronounced.  While  President 
Johnson  was  slowly  drifting  into  alliance  with  the 
Democratic  party,  another  campaign  occurred  in  New 
Hampshire. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  January 
5,  1866.  It  was  called  to  order  by  Benjamin  F.  Pres- 
cott,  the  secretary  of  the  State  committee.  George  G. 
Fogg  presided.  Governor  Smyth  was  renominated  by 
acclamation.  The  platform  adopted  was  a  somewhat 


192  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

guarded  document  in  its  reference  to  the  administra 
tion  at  Washington.  It  commended  Andrew  Johnson 
as  a  just  citizen,  sincere  patriot,  and  distinguished 
statesman,  approved  the  tone  and  temper  of  his  late 
annual  message,  and  pledged  him  hearty  support  in 
all  his  efforts  to  restore  harmony  and  mutual  trust  be 
tween  different  sections  of  the  Union  upon  the  basis 
of  universal  liberty  and  justice  to  all. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  did  not  meet  until 
February  7,  1866.  The  attitude  of  the  President  was 
now  clear,  and  the  Democrats  were  able  to  take  a  de 
cided  position  on  his  policy.  Their  convention  was 
called  to  order  by  Lewis  W.  Clark,  chairman  of  the 
State  committee,  and  Charles  R.  Morrison,  of  Man 
chester,  was  elected  president.  On  the  ballot  for  a 
candidate  for  governor,  John  G.  Sinclair,  of  Bethle 
hem,  was  nominated,  receiving  305  votes  to  38  for 
Hiram  R.  Roberts,  of  Rollinsford,  28  for  John  W. 
Sanborn,  of  Wakefield,  and  5  scattering. 

The  platform,  quoting  from  President  Johnson  that 
"  propositions  to  amend  the  constitution  are  becoming 
as  numerous  as  resolutions  at  town  meetings  called 
to  consider  the  most  ordinary  questions  of  local  af 
fairs,"  resolved  that  "  we  disapprove  of  all  amend 
ments  to  the  constitution  at  the  present  time  and 
under  the  present 'circumstances." 

It  further  pledged  to  Andrew  Johnson  the  support 
of  the  Democratic  party  "  in  the  efforts  he  is  making 
to  secure  to  all  the  States  immediate  representation 
in  Congress  and  their  full  rights  under  the  constitu- 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         193 

tion  as  States  of  the  Union."  It  promised  to  stand  by 
him  so  long  as  he  stands  by  the  constitution.  It  in 
vited  all  patriotic  citizens  to  unite  with  the  Democratic 
party  in  this  purpose.  The  Democrats  were  further 
encouraged  by  the  report  that  the  President  would  ap 
point  no  men  to  office  who  did  not  support  his  policy. 

The  campaign  was  a  quiet  one.  With  a  new  can 
didate  for  governor,  the  Democrats  expected  to  make 
an  improved  showing  on  the  popular  vote,  and  were 
not  without  hope  that  the  defection  of  Andrew  John 
son  would  contribute  to  their  success  in  the  State  by 
unsettling  the  convictions  of  New  Hampshire  Repub 
licans.  They  were,  however,  disappointed.  The  re 
turns  showed  the  reelection  of  Governor  Smyth  by 
nearly  five  thousand  majority.  The  vote  was  as  fol 
lows:  Scattering,  18;  John  G.  Sinclair,  30,484; 
Frederick  Smyth,  35,136. 

It  devolved  upon  the  incoming  legislature  to  choose 
a  successor  to  Senator  Daniel  Clark.  Including 
himself,  there  were  four  candidates  who  aspired  to 
his  seat  in  the  Senate.  The  others  were  Rollins,  Pat 
terson,  and  Marston,  all  of  whom  were  then  members 
of  Congress  whose  terms  expired  at  the  same  time  with 
Clark's.  Patterson  had  come  rapidly  to  the  front 
during  his  service  in  the  national  House,  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  country  by  his  forceful  and  elo 
quent  speeches.  He  was  strongly  supported  for  the 
position.  Rollins  had  withdrawn  two  years  before 
as  a  candidate  on  account  of  Concord's  interest  in  re 
maining  the  capital  of  the  State.  Marston  had  come 


194  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

very  near  to  the  goal  at  that  time,  having  been  de 
feated  by  the  transfer  of  Amos  Tuck's  support  to 
Aaron  H.  Cragin.  The  cry  of  rotation  in  office  was 
taken  up  by  Rollins,  Patterson,  and  Marston,  and  it 
became  a  contest  with  Clark  against  the  field.  Clark, 
though  lacking  elements  of  personal  popularity,  was 
strong  as  a  candidate  because  of  the  prominence  he 
had  attained  in  the  Senate.  It  was  evident  that  those 
favorable  to  rotation  in  office  could  more  easily  unite 
on  Patterson  than  on  either  Rollins  and  Marston,  both 
of  whom  bore  scars  from  their  recent  Congressional 
contests.  One  had  been  openly  bolted  and  the  other 
seriously  threatened  with  a  bolt.  Although  both  had 
been  reflected  by  large  majorities,  the  feeling  en 
gendered  by  their  contests  for  renomination  still  re 
mained.  Four  ballots  were  necessary  for  a  choice  and 
Patterson  was  nominated.1 

Rollins  expressed  no  disappointment  at  his  defeat. 
He  returned  to  the  short  session  of  the  thirty-ninth 
Congress  with  the  hope  that  he  might  be  again  re 
turned  to  the  House.  In  this  hope  he  was  somewhat 
encouraged  by  his  friends.  A  large  majority  of  the 
working  Republicans  of  the  State  looked  upon  him 
as  the  most  effective  member  of  the  delegation  in  that 
his  work,  though  not  so  conspicuous  as  that  of  some 


First  Second  Third  Fourth 

i  Clark                                                       72            76  79  77 

Patterson                                                    62            69  82  124 

Marston                                                       36            35  27  2 

Rollins                                                         36            25  15  2 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         195 

of  his  colleagues,  usually  brought  about  results.  His 
most  formidable  opponent  was  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of 
Nashua,  an  able  lawyer  of  political  prominence.  A 
vacancy  on  the  supreme  bench  of  the  State  was  soon 
to  occur,  to  which  it  was  thought  Stevens  might  be 
appointed.  If  so,  the  field  would  be  reasonably  clear 
for  Rollins's  fourth  nomination.  Stevens  was  post 
master  of  Nashua  at  this  time.  Rollins,  therefore, 
wrote  to  his  friends  in  the  district  asking  their  advice 
as  to  his  candidacy.  In  the  meantime,  delegates  were 
elected  to  the  convention  which  was  to  assemble  at 
Manchester,  December  27,  1866.  Rollins  himself  was 
chosen  a  delegate  from  Ward  4,  Concord.  A  number 
of  Rollins's  staunch  friends,  like  Ordway,  Austin  F. 
Pike,  John  Kimball,  of  Concord,  Edward  Osgood  and 
David  Foster,  of  Canterbury,  were  also  chosen  as  del 
egates. 

Referring  to  the  approaching  Congressional  conven 
tion  in  the  second  district,  the  Statesman  said :  "In 
our  own  district  Mr.  Rollins,  the  present  efficient  Rep 
resentative,  has  been  so  uniformly  right  upon  all  ques 
tions  presented  to  Congress  and  his  name  is  so  inter 
woven  with  the  true  men  who  have  been  returned  from 
nearly  all  the  loyal  States  to  the  fortieth  Congress 
that  we  confess  it  would  give  us  pleasure  to  see  him 
returned  again.  The  great  issue  now  presented  to  the 
people  is  whether  Congress  shall  be  sustained  or  the 
President.  The  question  is  presented  as  one  of  policy 
solely,  whether  Mr.  Rollins  shall  be  reflected  or  a  new 
Representative  chosen.  It  is  not  whether  we  shall 


196  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

adopt  a  fourth  term  rule,  but  whether,  under  existing 
circumstances,  Mr.  Rollins  be  returned  as  a  direct 
rebuke  to  Andrew  Johnson.  At  the  same  time,  we  are 
not  unmindful  of  the  claims  of  distinguished  and 
worthy  gentlemen  of  the  district.  The  popular  choice 
seems  to  point  strongly  toward  Gen.  Aaron  F.  Stevens, 
of  Nashua,  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  Rollins  whenever 
a  new  man  is  chosen.  His  election  would  be  a  fitting 
recognition  of  his  eminent  service  in  the  State  and 
in  the  field.  Messrs.  Pike,  of  Franklin,  and  Briggs, 
of  Hillsborough,  are  both  mentioned  in  the  same  con 
nection,  and  the  responsibilities  of  the  office  might  be 
safely  left  in  their  hands." 

The  convention  being  in  the  recess  of  Congress, 
Rollins  attended.  After  the  convention  was  called  to 
order,  he  addressed  it,  and  the  conclusion  he  had 
reached  is  set  forth  in  his  speech.  He  said : 

"  I  propose  to  submit  a  few  remarks  to  this  con 
vention  which  in  my  judgment  will  have  a  tendency 
to  promote  that  harmony  and  unity  of  action  which 
are  so  essential  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the 
Republicans  of  the  district.  I  am  well  aware  that 
there  are  gentlemen  present,  and  many  in  the  district, 
warm  friends,  who  would  be  pleased  to  see  me  renom- 
inated  and  reflected  to  Congress.  I  confess  with  entire 
frankness  that  there  was  a  time  when,  considering  the 
question  whether  Congress  or  the  President  would  be 
sustained  by  the  people,  observing  that  generally  the 
members  of  the  thirty-ninth  Congress  had  been  re 
turned,  and  listening  to  the  kind  and  flattering  words 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         197 

of  ardent  and  devoted  supporters,  I  thought  it  possible, 
aye  probable,  that  this  constituency  would  depart  in 
this  instance  from  the  time-honored  doctrine  of  rota 
tion  in  office.  That  time  has  passed.  Distrusting  my 
own  judgment  and  desiring  full  information  to  enable 
me  to  arrive  at  an  intelligent  conclusion,  and  to  act 
agreeably  to  the  wishes  of  the  Republican  party,  I 
wrote  letters  to  influential  gentlemen  in  various  parts 
of  the  district,  seeking  counsel  as  to  the  sentiments  of 
the  people  in  their  immediate  localities.  To  some  of 
these  letters  I  received  prompt  reply,  but  many  replies 
were  so  long  delayed  that  they  have  but  recently  come 
into  my  hands.  While  the  tone  of  the  responses  was 
with  scarcely  an  exception  of  most  kind  and  cordial 
character,  assuring  me  of  full  and  unqualified  endorse 
ment  of  my  official  record,  it  was  apparent  that  there 
was  a  strong  inclination  to  adhere  to  the  doctrine  of 
rotation.  To  the  doctrine  I  have  been  committed  in 
the  past,  and  I  submit  to  it  cheerfully  in  the  present. 

"  I  wish  now  to  express  my  hearty  thanks  to  my 
friends,  here  and  elsewhere,  and  to  the  Republican 
party  of  the  district  for  their  many  expressions  of  con 
fidence,  and  the  unfaltering  support  which  has  been 
given  to  me  during  the  nearly  six  years  I  have  held 
a  seat  in  Congress.  At  the  expiration  of  my  present 
term,  I  shall  again  return  to  the  ranks,  where,  I  flatter 
myself,  I  have  heretofore  done  some  service  for  the 
cause,  and  where  I  hope  to  do  still  more  in  the  future." 

Mr.  Rollins  then  moved  the  nomination  of  Stevens 
by  acclamation.  The  name  of  James  F.  Briggs,  of 


198  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Hillsborough,  was  withdrawn,  and  Stevens  was  nom 
inated.  The  convention  then  adopted  the  following 
resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  are  proud  of  the  official  career 
of  our  present  able  and  efficient  Representative  in 
Congress,  Edward  H.  Eollins,  and  that  we  fully  and 
heartily  endorse  the  same  and  pledge  ourselves  to  push 
forward  to  consummation  the  work  in  which  he  in 
Congress  is  engaged.'7 

In  the  Republican  convention  of  the  first  Congres 
sional  district,  Jacob  H.  Ela,  of  Rochester,  was  nom 
inated  after  several  ballots,  the  other  candidates  being 
Gilman  Marston,  Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  and  Edward 
Ashton  Rollins,  the  latter  being  a  cousin  of  Edward  H. 
Rollins. 

Ela  was  a  hard-working  Republican,  and  a  very 
earnest  man.  As  a  public  speaker  he  made  a  favorable 
impression  upon  an  audience.  After  serving  two  terms 
in  Congress,  he  was  appointed  an  auditor  of  the  Treas 
ury  Department  at  Washington,  a  position  he  held 
for  many  years.  Throughout  life  he  was  a  familiar 
figure  in  New  Hampshire  campaigns. 

In  the  third  district,  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lancaster, 
was  nominated  by  acclamation,  the  other  candidates 
withdrawing  before  a  ballot.  Benton  had  a  rugged 
and  strong  character,  and  a  well-balanced  mind. 
A  man  of  positive  convictions,  he  would  have  been  a 
leader  in  any  walk  in  life.  Educated  for  the  bar,  he 
held  a  prominent  place  in  the  profession.  After  his 
Congressional  career  he  drifted  into  business  pursuits, 


IN    THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         199 

making  and  losing  a  fortune.  Settling  in  full  with  his 
creditors,  he  took  up  the  burden  late  in  life  and  again 
acquired  a  competence. 

The  Republican  State  convention,  which  met  Janu 
ary  8,  1867,  excited  wide-spread  interest  because  of 
the  intense  contest  made  for  the  gubernatorial  nom 
ination.  Onslow  Stearns,  who  had  been  a  candidate 
two  years  before,  was  again  in  the  field.  In  the  natu 
ral  sequence  of  politics,  the  nomination  would  have 
been  accorded  to  him  without  opposition.  But  this 
was  the  first  State  convention  in  ISTew  Hampshire  since 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  there  was  a  demand  for  a 
soldier  candidate  on  the  part  of  many  Republicans  of 
the  State.  Walter  Harriman,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
who  had  stepped  into  the  breach  four  years  before  as 
an  independent  candidate  to  save  Gilmore  from  de 
feat,  had  enthusiastic  support.  Rollins,  Chandler,  and 
Ordway,  who  were  dissatisfied  with  Stearns's  course 
after  his  defeat  in  the  previous  convention,  favored 
Harriman.  The  Manchester  Mirror  opposed  Stearns 
because  he  was  a  railroad  president,  and  supported 
Harriman.  The  Statesman  early  in  the  canvass  came 
out  strongly  for  Stearns,  but  later  urged  the  third  nom 
ination  of  Governor  Smyth  in  the  interest  of  party 
harmony.  The  last  nomination  was  also  favored  for  the 
same  reason  by  the  Portsmouth  Journal,  the  Dover 
Enquirer,  and  the  Claremont  Eagle.  The  canvass  be 
came  very  earnest,  with  much  display  of  personal  feel 
ing.  Other  candidates  were  mentioned  during  the 
canvass,  but  the  strife  between  the  friends  of  Harri- 


200  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

man  and  Steams  forced  all  dark  horses  from  the  field. 
Governor  Smyth,  before  the  convention  assembled,  de 
clined  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  time.  Simon  G. 
Griffin,  of  Keene,  presided  over  the  convention.  Har- 
riman  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  the  vote  stand 
ing,  Harriman  349,  Stearns  318,  and  scattering  8. 
The  Patriot  attributed  the  defeat  of  Stearns  to  the 
efforts  of  "  the  ring,"  meaning  Rollins,  Chandler,  and 
Ordway. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  January  16,  1867, 
with  a  confidence  its  members  had  not  shared  for  sev 
eral  years.  The  administration  at  Washington  was  no 
longer  in  sympathy  with  the  Republican  party.  The 
Republican  office-holders  had  either  been  supplanted 
by  Johnson  men  or  coerced  into  inactivity.  The 
threatened  breach  in  the  Republican  ranks  gave  great 
encouragement  to  the  Democracy.  The  convention 
was  presided  over  by  Edmund  Burke,  of  Newport. 
John  G.  Sinclair  was  renominated  by  acclamation. 
The  latter  on  motion  of  John  H.  George  was  instructed 
to  challenge  Harriman  to  meet  him  upon  the  stump 
and  discuss  before  the  people  the  issues  of  the  day. 
The  challenge  was  accepted,  and  meetings  were  ar 
ranged. 

Harriman  at  the  time  of  this  debate  was  fifty  years 
of  age.  He  had  been  educated  for  the  ministry,  and 
had  preached  for  several  years.  Retiring  from  the 
ministry,  he  engaged  in  trade  at  Warner.  Being  an 
effective  and  eloquent  speaker,  his  drift  into  politics 
was  easy  and  natural.  From  about  1850  to  1862,  he 


IN   THE   THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         201 

was  one  of  the  most  popular  campaign  speakers  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  New  Hampshire.  As  a  war  Dem 
ocrat  he  had  enlisted  and  gone  to  the  front  at  the  head 
of  a  New  Hampshire  regiment,  and  had  been  breveted 
brigadier-general.  His  affiliation  with  the  Republi- 
can  party  dated  from  about  1863.  The  New  Hamp 
shire  Democrats  bitterly  resented  his  change  of  poli 
tics,  and  he  was  the  target  in  subsequent  campaigns 
for  virulent  denunciation.  As  recalled  at  a  little  later 
period,  Harriman  was  a  man  of  imposing  presence, 
long,  flowing,  white  hair,  a  resonant  voice,  captivating 
audiences  by  his  well-rounded  periods  and  apt  Scrip 
tural  quotations.  He  was  always  in  demand  during 
the  campaign  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  ranked 
among  the  best  stump-speakers  of  the  country.  He 
was  afterward  appointed  naval  officer  of  customs  at  the 
port  of  Boston,  a  position  which  he  held  for  two 
terms. 

John  G.  Sinclair  was  one  of  the  giants  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  of  New  Hampshire.  A  self-made  man, 
endowed  by  nature  with  shrewdness,  sagacity,  and  a 
ready  wit,  he  early  in  life  came  to  the  front  in  the 
politics  of  the  State.  There  was  a  vein  of  irony  in 
his  speech  nettling  to  an  opponent,  but  evoking  the 
delight  of  his  partisans.  He  served  many  terms  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  New  Hampshire,  and  was 
the  most  brilliant  debater  of  that  body  during  his  term 
of  service.  He  would  delight  the  House  with  a  fund 
of  anecdotal  and  humorous  illustrations  with  which 
he  pundtured  the  argument  of  an  opponent,  and,  while 


202  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  merits  of  the  question  most  frequently  left  him 
in  the  minority  when  the  vote  was  taken,  he  almost 
invariably  carried  off  the  honors  of  the  discussion. 
Any  unfortunate  lapse  of  speech  of  an  opponent  was 
his  opportunity,  for  he  was  quick  at  repartee,  and  his 
greatest  forensic  triumphs  seemed  to  be  won  when, 
without  warning,  a  debate  was  precipitated  upon  the 
House.  He  was  afflicted  with  deafness,  but  this  in 
firmity  appeared  in  no  way  to  impair  his  effectiveness. 
It  used  to  be  said  that  he  always  heard  all  that  it  was 
necessary  to  hear  for  the  purposes  of  reply,  and  cer 
tainly  no  vulnerable  point  in  an  opponent's  argument 
escaped  him.  Such  was  the  antagonist  whom  Harri- 
man  had  to  meet  in  the  joint  discussion  which  was  to 
be  held  in  different  parts  of  the  State. 

There  had  been  no  joint  discussion  in  the  State  of 
any  note  since  the  meeting  of  Franklin  Pierce  and 
John  P.  Hale  in  the  Old  North  Meeting-house  at 
Concord  twenty  years  before,  and  the  Harriman-Sin- 
clair  debate  attracted  the  attention  of  the  entire  State. 
The  issues  discussed  by  Harriman  and  Sinclair  were 
national,  and  the  meetings  drew  throngs  of  people. 
So  intense  was  the  partisan  feeling  at  the  time  that 
no  contemporary  opinion  of  the  merits  of  the  speakers 
was  unbiassed.  At  the  close  of  each  meeting,  the  Re 
publicans  were  positive  that  Harriman  had  the  best 
of  the  discussion,  while  the  Democrats  were  equally 
certain  that  Sinclair  had  worsted  his  opponent.  Har 
riman  had  the  better  cause  and  he  won,  but  it  is  no  dis 
credit  to  him  to  say  that  Sinclair  at  that  time  was 


IN    THE    THIRTY  -  NINTH    CONGRESS         203 

probably  without  his  equal  in  the  State  as  a  debater 
in  the  political  forum. 

For  Congress  the  Democrats  renominated  Daniel 
Marcy  in  the  first  district,  and  Harry  Bingham  in  the 
third,  while  Edward  W.  Harrington,  of  Manchester, 
was  put  forward  as  the  candidate  in  the  second  district. 

The  friends  of  Stearns  were  very  bitter  over  his 
defeat,  and  for  a  time  a  bolt  of  the  convention  seemed 
possible,  with  Stearns  running  as  an  independent  can 
didate.  A  meeting  of  the  prominent  Eepublicans  of 
the  State  was  called  in  Concord,  and  about  one  -hun 
dred  and  fifty  were  present,  having  in  view  the  nom 
ination  of  Stearns  as  an  independent  Republican,  with 
the  expectation  that  the  Democrats  would  endorse 
him.  Sinclair  favored  this  course,  and  stood  ready  to 
withdraw.  Fear  of  the  disruption  of  the  Republican 
party  alone  prevented  action,  and  Stearns  himself,  in 
a  letter  to  the  chairman  of  the  meeting,  declined  to 
have  his  name  used,  saying  among  other  things : 
"  Whatever  my  opinions  may  be  relative  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  canvass  was  conducted  and  the  false  rep 
resentations  made  in  regard  to  one  of  the  most  im 
portant  interests  of  the  State  with  which  I  am  and 
have  been  for  a  long  time  identified,  I  cherish  too 
strong  an  attachment  to  old  associations  to  allow  my 
personal  feelings  to  control  my  political  action,  and, 
whatever  measures  you  may  see  fit  to  adopt  to  express 
your  disapprobation  of  the  course  pursued,  I  must 
respectfully  decline  to  allow  my  name  to  be  used  as 
a  candidate  for  governor  at  the  ensuing  election." 


204  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Stearns  was  assured  by  the  Republican  leaders  that 
he  would  be  nominated  as  Harriman's  successor,  and 
united  action  was  secured  in  behalf  of  the  Republican 
ticket.  It  was  largely  through  the  instrumentality 
of  Austin  F.  Pike,  chairman  of  the  State  committee, 
that  a  bolt  was  prevented.  There  still  remained 
enough  of  personal  dissatisfaction  to  give  the  Demo 
crats '  encouragement  in  the  campaign,  but  the  returns 
showed  a  Republican  victory  by  a  somewhat  reduced 
majority.  '  The  vote  was  as  follows :  Scattering,  136 ; 
John  G.  Sinclair,  32,663;  Walter  Harriman,  35,809. 


CHAPTEK    XII. 

ROLLINS    RESUMES    THE    CHAIRMANSHIP 

ROLLINS'S  third  term  in  Congress  expired  March  4, 
1867.  He  returned  home  to  give  some  attention  to 
his  private  affairs.  As  he  had  said  in  his  speech  to  the 
convention  which  nominated  his  successor,  he  still 
hoped,  while  returning  to  the  ranks,  to  be  of  service 
to  the  cause.  He  held  himself  subject  to  call  by 
his  party,  and  he  had  not  long  to  wait  before  being 
drawn  into  service.  The  fall  elections  of  1867  were 
far  from  gratifying  to  the  Republicans,  while  they  en 
couraged  Democratic  activities  all  over  the  country. 
In  the  October  State  elections  of  that  autumn,  the 
Democrats  carried  Pennsylvania  by  a  small  majority 
on  the  popular  vote  and  secured  the  legislature  of  Ohio, 
defeating  Benjamin  F.  Wade  for  reelection  to  the  Sen 
ate,  while  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Republican  candidate 
for  governor,  received  only  three  thousand  majority. 
In  the  November  elections  following,  the  Democrats 
carried  New  York  by  fifty  thousand  majority  and  New 
Jersey  by  twelve  thousand.  Preceding  as  these  elec 
tions  did  the  Presidential  year,  the  Democrats  were 
buoyant  with  courage,  while  the  Republicans  were  cor- 

205 


206  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

respondingly  depressed.  The  March  election  of  1868 
in  New  Hampshire  would  be  the  next  State  election, 
and  the  eyes  of  the  whole  country  were  focussed  upon 
this  State,  always  debatable,  for  a  further  indication 
of  the  probabilities  of  the  impending  national  contest. 
Elated  by  the  success  of  their  brethren  in  other 
States,  the  Democrats  of  New  Hampshire  assumed  the 
offensive  and  called  their  convention  early.  It  was  held 
November  14,  1867,  Lewis  W.  Clark  presiding.  There 
was  a  lively  contest  for  the  nomination  for  governor. 
Sinclair,  who  had  been  defeated  twice,  was  again  a 
candidate,  but  a  very  large  number  of  the  party  favored 
a  new  candidate.  These  people  rallied  about  Ellery 
A.  Hibbard,  of  Laconia,  a  lawyer  of  good  standing  at 
the  bar,  and  a  Democrat  not  so  scarred  in  political  war 
fare  as  Sinclair.  Hibbard  was  a  practitioner  in  his 
profession  whose  counsel  led  to  the  settlement  of  con 
troversies,  a  man  of  quiet  tastes,  one  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him,  and  against  whom  nothing  could  be 
urged  in  public  or  private  life.  No  stronger  candidate 
could  have  been  selected  at  that  time  by  the  Democratic 
party.  A  local  support  of  Hiram  R.  Roberts,  of  Rol- 
linsford,  deflected  just  enough  votes  in  the  convention 
to  defeat  Hibbard.  Two  ballots  were  necessary  for  a 
choice.  On  the  first  ballot  the  vote  stood:  Sinclair, 
312 ;  Hibbard,  302 ;  Roberts,  31 ;  and  scattering,  17. 
On  the  second  ballot  Sinclair  was  nominated  by  a  vote 
of  331  to  269.  The  contest  in  this  convention  was  the 
beginning  of  a  struggle  for  leadership  which  was  soon 
to  divide  the  Democratic  party  into  factions.  How- 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     207 

ever,  the  renomination  of  Sinclair  was  acquiesced  in, 
and  the  Democratic  party,  united  for  the  time  being, 
entered  the  campaign  for  one  of  its  most  desperate 
struggles  to  regain  control  of  the  State. 

Joshua  L.  Foster,  of  Portsmouth,  afterward  of 
Dover,  reported  the  resolutions.  These  denounced 
the  Congressional  plan  of  reconstruction  as  a  revolu 
tionary  usurpation  and  characterized  the  attempt  of 
Congress  to  establish  supremacy  of  the  negro  race  (in 
the  South)  as  "  a  most  atrocious  crime  against  the 
principles  of  Republican  government  and  the  civiliza 
tion  of  the  age."  Anson  S.  Marshall,  of  Concord,  was 
chosen  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  committee. 
He  was  a  man  of  brilliant  attainments,  a  leader  at  the 
bar,  self-reliant,  and  with  capacity  for  organization. 
Under  his  leadership  the  party  was  brought  into  its 
best  fighting  trim,  and  labored  incessantly  for  victory. 

The  Republican  State  convention  met  December  18, 
18 67.  Onslow  Stearns  was  elected  president.  Walter 
Harriman  was  renominated  by  acclamation.  William 
E.  Chandler  reported  the  resolutions,  which  in  vigor 
ous  terms  endorsed  the  pol-icy  of  Congress,  accepting 
the  gage  of  battle  thrown  down  by  the  Democratic 
party,  and  declaring  for  General  Grant  as  the  next 
Republican  candidate  for  President.  This  declaration 
for  Grant  precipitated  the  Presidential  canvass  into 
the  State  campaign,  and  the  issues  at  once  became 
wholly  national.  Rollins  was  again  elected  chairman 
of  the  State  committee  after  an  absence  of  six  years 
from  this  position. 


208  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

The  Democratic  campaign  was  opened  at  Concord 
soon  after  the  conventions  by  a  meeting  which  was  ad 
dressed  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts, 
grandson  of  President  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  was 
followed  in  the  campaign  by  an  array  of  speaking 
talent  seldom  seen  in  the  State.  The  Democratic 
National  committee  saw  the  advantage  to  accrue  if 
New  Hampshire  could  be  detached  from  Republican 
control,  and  responded  to  all  calls  of  the  party  in  the 
State.  Some  of  the  ablest  Democratic  speakers  in  the 
country  participated  in  this  campaign.  The  list  in 
cluded  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  of  Indiana,  Montgomery 
Blair  and  Charles  E.  Phelps,  of  Maryland,  Richard 
O'Gorman,  C.  C.  Burr,  John  A.  Thompson,  E.  O.  Per- 
rin,  and  James  S.  Thayer,  of  New  York,  James  R. 
Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  of  Ohio, 
Richard  Vaux,  of  Pennsylvania,  Henry  Clay  Dean, 
of  Iowa,  Lewis  W.  Ross,  of  Illinois,  Eben  F.  Pillsbury, 
of  Maine,  E.  S.  Cleveland  and  Ja'mes  F.  Babcock,  of 
Connecticut,  Charles  Levi  Woodbury,  Augustus  O. 
Brewster,  Patrick  A.  Collins,  James  K.  Tarbox,  and 
John  E.  Fitzgerald,  of  Massachusetts.  Assisting  these 
were  all  the  local  Democratic  speakers  who  could  be 
mustered  into  service.  Democratic  meetings  were 
largely  attended  and  Democratic  enthusiasm  reached 
the  highest  pitch.  There  was  hardly  a  hamlet  in  the 
State  that  did  not  have  its  political  rally,  some  of  the 
smaller  localities  being  visited  by  speakers  of  national 
reputation,  and  meetings  were  held  out-doors  when 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     209 

halls  were  not  large  enough  to  hold  the  people  as 
sembled. 

Rollins  always  regarded  this  as  his  hardest  cam 
paign,  and  he  frequently  referred  to  it  as  his  most 
successful  one.  The  Republicans  of  the  State  were 
alarmed  at  the  activity  of  the  Democrats  and  continued 
apprehensive  of  the  result  until  the  votes  were  counted. 
None  saw  more  clearly  than  Rollins  the  magnitude  of 
the  contest  and  its  bearing  upon  the  subsequent  Pres 
idential  campaign.  The  Republicans  of  New  Hamp 
shire  had  been  so  universally  successful  that  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  impress  the  Republican  National 
committee  with  the  danger  of  their  defeat.  There  was 
none  too  good  feeling  among  the  Republican  leaders 
of  the  State.  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway  led  and 
controlled  the  Republican  organization.  Opposition 
to  their  control  was  growing.  If  suppressed  in  the 
midst  of  this  campaign,  it  was  nevertheless  smoldering 
to  break  out  in  force  later.  Chandler  and  Ordway 
were  relied  upon  by  Rollins  to  present  the  importance 
and  magnitude  of  the  contest  to  the  national  leaders, 
and  the  work  these  two  performed  contributed  greatly 
to  Republican  success. 

In  the  midst  of  the  canvass,  the  impeachment  of 
Andrew  Johnson  by  the  Republican  majority  in  Con 
gress  occurred.  What  its  effect  would  be  upon  the  New 
Hampshire  election  no  one  could  foretell.  Of  its  em 
barrassments  Chandler  writes  Rollins  under  February 
23,  1868,  as  follows: 

"  Of  course  this  impeachment  business  has  discour- 


210  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

aged  everything.  The  Republicans  of  the  House  are 
unanimous  for  it  and  will  so  vote  to-morrow.  I  sup 
pose  I  have  not  changed  my  mind  as  to  its  expediency. 
We  exchange,  by  embarking  on  an  unknown  sea,  a  cer 
tainty  for  an  uncertainty.  I  hope  for  the  best  and,  if 
it  can  be  done  at  once,  it  may  not  destroy  us.  If  the 
work  lingers,  we  are  gone,  provided  the  enemy  is  wise 
enough  to  take  advantage  of  our  indiscretion.  It  will 
break  up  the  arrangement  of  speakers  from  Congress, 
and  our  members  will  not  start  home  so  soon  as  other 
wise.  You  must  do  the  best  you  can.  ...  I  don't 
suppose  the  impeachment  project  will  effect  you  one 
way  or  another  in  New  Hampshire,  certainly  not  to 
hurt,  I  should  think." 

Henry  O.  Kent,  writing  Rollins  from  Lancaster 
about  this  time,  said :  "  The  impeachment  matter 
roused  our  people  like  the  uprising  of  1861.  They 
are  all  sound  here  for  Congress."  The  impeachment 
trial  probably  did  not  effect  one  vote  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  the  Republicans  being  enthusiastic  in  its  sup 
port,  and  the  Democrats  earnest  in  defence  of  Andrew 
Johnson,  who  was  now  recognized  as  in  thorough  ac 
cord  with  their  party.  It  was,  however,  the  source 
of  the  greatest  embarrassment  to  Rollins  in  conduct 
ing  the  campaign.  The  Democrats  were  making  an 
aggressive  canvass,  holding  meetings  everywhere  in  the 
State  and  putting  forward  their  ablest  stump-speakers. 
Republican  demands  for  meetings  poured  in  upon  the 
State  committee,  and  Rollins  in  turn  invited  and  im 
plored,  personally,  and  through  Chandler  and  Ordway, 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     211 

leading  Republicans  of  the  country  to  come  to  his 
assistance.  The  difficulty  in  obtaining  speakers  is  ex 
plained  by  a  letter  of  Ordway  to  Rollins.  He  says: 
"  I  have  labored,  coaxed,  and  prayed  to  induce  the 
members  to  keep  their  appointments  and  leave  to-night, 
not  wholly  without  effect.  The  articles  of  impeach 
ment  are  being  discussed  and  each  man  wants  to  make 
a  speech.  The  managers  on  the  part  of  the  House  are 
to  be  elected  to-morrow  or  Monday,  and  all  want  to 
be  here  to  vote  for  their  friends.  I  cannot  do  more 
than  I  have  done,  yet  all  seem  to  fail.  I  don't  dare 
leave  the  Speaker.  Don't  think  it  safe  for  me  to  do  so 
until  after  the  articles  of  impeachment  are  disposed 
of,  as  the  discussion  is  very  exciting  at  times.  The 
Capitol  has  been  double-guarded  at  night,  and  double- 
locked  from  bottom  to  top.  I  know  what  a  bad  fix  it 
places  you  in  to  have  these  members  disappoint  you, 
but  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  to  have  it  otherwise." 
In  spite  of  these  disappointments,  Rollins  was  able 
to  put  into  the  field  a  corps  of  speakers  equal  in  na 
tional  fame  to  those  sent  out  by  the  Democrats.  These 
were  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine,  William  B.  Allison, 
of  Iowa,  Horace  Maynard,  James  Mullins,  and*  Will 
iam  B.  Stokes,  of  Tennessee,  Daniel  E.  Sickles  and 
John  Cochrane,  of  New  York,  James  W.  Nye,  of  Ne 
vada,  John  A.  J.  Cresswell  and  John  L.  Thompson,  of 
Maryland,  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  Henry 
Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  Governor  Austin  Blair,  of 
Michigan,  Governor  George  S.  Woods,  of  Oregon,  T. 
M.  Hite  and  George  W.  Anderson,  of  Missouri,  Igna- 


212  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tius  Donnelly,  of  Minnesota,  William  Williams  and 
Henry  D.  Washburn,  of  Indiana,  John  C.  Caldwell,  of 
Maine,  John  Covode,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  George 
G.  Gorham,  of  California. 

Both  sides  put  forth  their  greatest  efforts  to  bring 
home  absent  voters  and  to  get  all  voters  to  the  polls. 
Senator  Cragin  wrote  Rollins  from  Washington :  "  I 
am  digging  up  all  the  votes  from  here  and  many  will 
go.  I  start  two  from  Virginia.  I  am  now  going 
through  the  Interior  Department  and  I  shall  get  some 
there."  Ordway  wrote :  "  I  have  helped  on  the  ex 
penses  of  some  clerks  who  are  willing  to  go  home  to 
vote  and  I  am  willing  to  aid  others  who  cannot  go 
without  aid." 

There  were  no  laggards  on  either  side  in  this  cam 
paign.  Whatever  position  a  man  occupied,  he  stood 
ready  to  do  his  part.  A  letter  to  Rollins  from  Judge 
Charles  Doe,  who,  in  later  life,  affected  an  indiffer 
ence  to  all  political  matters,  shows  the  intense  indi 
vidual  interest.  He  says :  a  I  send  by  express  a  quan 
tity  of  Walter  Harriman's  speeches  on  the  negro  ques 
tion  and  a  slip  on  impeachment.  We  are  using  these 
with  capital  effect  in  this  part  of  the  State,  sending 
them  around  to  every  store  and  house.  Please  send 
them  to  different  towns  for  distribution  and  charge 
the  expense  to  me.  This  is  a  part  of  my  contribution 
to  the  cause." 

February  25,  1868,  Ordway  wrote  to  Rollins:  "I 
went  to  see  Edwin  M.  Stanton  last  night,  found  him 
in  possession  of  the  War  Department  and  in  good 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     213 

spirits.  He  said  to  me,  '  Tell  Rollins  we  rely  on  him 
to  carry  the  State.7 '  As  the  campaign  progressed,  the 
Democrats  became  very  sanguine  of  victory.  Rollins 
published  his  canvass  of  the  State  a  short  time  before 
election,  showing  a  comfortable  majority  for  the  Re 
publicans.  To  this  challenge  Marshall,  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  committee,  replied  by  publishing  his 
canvass.  Rollins  gave  2,891  doubtful  votes  and  Mar- 
sjiall  2,506.  Each  divided  the  doubtful  equally  be 
tween  the  parties.  Including  the  doubtful  thus  di 
vided,  the  two  canvasses  are  shown  below.1 

The  Manchester  Mirror  says  of  the  Republican  can 
vass  :  "  The  canvass  was  returned  March  1st,  and  the 
excess  of  Democratic  votes  over  the  canvass  is  owing 
to  the  naturalization  of  six  hundred  foreigners  between 
that  time  and  election.'7 

The  feelings  of  Republicans  throughout  the  country 
when  the  news  of  the  New  Hampshire  election  was  re 
ceived  is  expressed  by  the  Boston  Transcript  editorially 
in  referring  to  the  result.  That  newspaper  said :  "  The 
Republicans  of  the  Granite  State  achieved  the  most 

ROLLINS'S  MARSHALL'S 

i  Harriman        ....         39,883  34,462 

Sinclair 36,648  37,336 


Total  Vote  76,531  71,798 

ACTUAL   VOTE 

Harriman        .         .         .         .         39,771 
Sinclair 37,241 


Total  vote  77,012 


214  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

remarkable  victory  it  was  ever  their  good  fortune  to 
win.  By  common  consent,  as  it  were,  throughout  the 
country  New  Hampshire  has  been  selected  as  a  battle 
ground  by  the  two  parties  for  the  purpose  of  testing 
the  popularity  of  General  Grant  and  ascertaining 
whether  his  strength  with  the  people  has  been  materi 
ally  affected  by  the  present  aspect  of  national  affairs. 
For  the  past  three  or  four  years  the  New  Hampshire 
Democrats  have  been  beaten  by  their  opponents  only 
through  the  exercise  of  the  most  unremitting  vigilance 
and  by  systematic  efforts  that  have  made  the  Republi 
can  canvasses  of  the  State  historical.  This  year  the 
Republicans  labored  under  disadvantages  and  were 
met  by  obstacles  absolutely  sufficient  to  discourage  any 
set  of  men  but  those  who  have  continued  for  many 
years  to  uphold  the  banner  of  Republicanism  against 
odds  such  as  are  not  encountered  by  Republicans  else 
where." 

After  complimenting  the  speakers,  the  Transcript 
says :  "  But  it  was  not  the  public  speaking  that  did 
the  most  of  the  work.  Every  Republican  in  New 
Hampshire  talked  and  exerted  himself  as  though  the 
destinies  of  the  State  rested  upon  his  shoulders.  Their 
efforts  were  rendered  effective  to  the  utmost  degree  by 
an  organization  so  complete  as  to  comprise  almost 
every  voter  in  the  State.  The  thoroughness  of  their 
organization  enabled  the  Republican  State  committee 
at  Concord  to  know  all  the  weak  points  along  the  line 
and  strengthen  them,  and  a  large  measure  of  its  suc 
cess  is  due  to  the  committee,  at  the  head  of  which 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     215 

stands  that  celebrated  organizer  of  political  campaigns, 
Edward  H.  Rollins." 

After  election,  the  Democratic  Patriot  said :  "  The 
Democrats  confidently  expected  to  reduce  the  Republi 
can  majority  to  a  small  figure  and  hoped  to  win.  The 
Republicans  feared  defeat  and  hoped  only  to  escape 
by  i  the  skin  of  their  teeth.7  To  say  that  we  are  dis 
appointed,  that  our  friends  are  disappointed,  does  not 
begin  to  express  their  feelings.  They  feel  the  result 
to  be  a  just  cause  for  sadness  and  grave  apprehension 
on  the  part  of  all  true  friends  of  constitutional  govern 
ment." 

The  Democrats  polled  in  this  election  the  largest 
vote  they  had  ever  polled  by  nearly  five  thousand. 
The  Republican  victory  was  rendered  more  significant 
by  the  fact  that  in  the  Connecticut  election,  April  fol 
lowing,  the  Democrats  triumphed  by  an  increased 
majority  over  the  previous  year. 

The  election  of  delegates  to  the  national  convention 
was  the  next  consideration  of  the  Republican  party  of 
New  Hampshire.  The  State  convention  met  May  5, 
1868,  for  this  purpose.  Rollins  called  the  convention 
to  order  and  Mason  W.  Tappan  presided.  The  previ 
ous  State  convention  having  declared  for  General 
Grant  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  President,  the 
action  of  this  convention  was  merely  a  formal  ratifica 
tion  of  the  well-known  views  of  the  Republicans  of  the 
State.  The  delegates  at  large  who  were  selected  were 
William  E.  Chandler,  of  Concord,  Elijah  M.  Topliff, 
of  Manchester,  Charles  S.  Faulkner,  of  Keene,  and 


216  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

John  H.  Bailey,  of  Portsmouth.  Those  chosen  from 
the  districts  were  John  E.  Bickford,  of  Dover,  and 
Ezra  Gould,  of  Sandwich,  from  the  first  district,  James 
F.  Briggs,  of  Hillsborough,  and  Francis  B.  Ayer,  of 
Nashua,  from  the  second,  and  Edward  A.  Vaughan, 
of  Claremont,  and  Thomas  P.  Cheney,  of  Ashland. 

After  the  nomination  of  Grant  and  Colfax,  a  ratifi 
cation  meeting  occurred  in  Concord  which  was  ad 
dressed  by  Rollins,  Harriman,  Tappan,  Fogg,  and 
others. 

The  Maine  election  in  September  was  an  indication 
of  the  drift  of  the  political  tide,  which  was  confirmed 
by  the  October  elections  following.  There  was,  there 
fore,  no  incentive  for  the  New  Hampshire  Democrats 
to  make  a  contest  for  the  choice  of  electors.  Their  cam 
paign  was  not  aggressive,  and  the  Republicans  were 
not  called  upon  to  repeat  their  exertions  of  the  spring 
before.  Little  speaking  occurred  on  either  side.  Rol 
lins,  as  chairman  of  the  State  committee,  was  desirous 
of  rolling  up  a  good  majority,  and  his  labors  were  bent 
upon  getting  out  the  Republican  vote.  In  this  he  was 
successful,  for  the  Republican  majority  exceeded  seven 
thousand.1 

As  soon  as  the  national  election  was  over,  prepara 
tions  were  made  for  the  spring  campaign  of  1869.  It 
was  settled  that  Onslow  Stearns  would  be  nominated 
as  Governor  Harriman's  successor.  To  assure  the  pub- 

i  Grant 37,726 

Seymour 30,573 

7,153 


ROLLINS   RESUMES   THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     217 

lie  that  the  breach  made  in  the  party  at  the  convention 
of  1867  was  healed,  Governor  Harriman  was  invited 
to  preside  at  the  convention,  and  accepted.  The  con 
vention  met  January  7,  1869.  The  nomination  of 
Onslow  Stearns  was  made  by  acclamation.  The  State 
committee  met  immediately  after  the  convention  ad 
journed,  and  organized  by  the  choice  of  Rollins  as 
chairman,  and  Wyman  Pattee,  of  Enfield,  as  secretary. 
The  reelection  of  Rollins  as  chairman  was  greeted  by 
the  Nashua  Telegraph,  of  which  Orrin  C.  Moore  had 
recently  become  the  editor,  as  an  assurance  of  victory, 
and  Rollins  was  complimented  for  his  work  as  chair 
man  of  the  State  committee. 

In  the  spring  of  1869,  Rollins  was  elected  assistant 
treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  secretary 
of  the  board  of  directors.  This  position  he  owed  to  his 
acquaintance  with  Oakes  Ames,  with  whom  he  had 
served  in  Congress.  After  his  retirement  from  Con 
gress,  he  had  become  identified  with  the  interests  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  had  been  an  agent  of 
the  road  in  looking  after  its  affairs  in  Washington. 
The  Union  Pacific,  being  a  land  grant  railroad,  had 
large  dealings  with  the  departments  at  Washington, 
and  was  the  subject  of  more  or  less  inquiry  by  Con 
gress.  Its  interests  had  constantly  to  be  watched  and 
its  side  of  controversies  to  be  presented  to  committees 
of  Congress  and  to  departments,  a  work  for  which  Rol 
lins  was  especially  fitted.  His  knowledge  of  the  rou 
tine  of  the  departments  and  of  parliamentary  pro 
ceedings,  his  large  acquaintance  with  public  men  and 


218  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  persistence  with  which  he  followed  matters  placed 
in  his  charge,  made  him  a  valuable  representative  of  the 
road  and  led  to  his  election,  first,  as  assistant  treasurer, 
and  later,  as  treasurer  of  this  corporation.  The  Union 
Pacific  Road  was  under  suspicion  and  fire  at  this  time, 
and  scandals  later  developed  in  connection  with  its 
management.  With  these  scandals  Rollins  had  no 
connection,  but  his  employment  by  the  road,  first  as 
its  agent  and  later  as  one  of  its  officers,  made  him  vul 
nerable  to  attack,  and  his  enemies  and  rivals  in  New 
Hampshire  were  not  slow  in  improving  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded. 

To  the  complimentary  notice  given  Rollins  by  Orrin 
C.  Moore  in  the  Nashua  Telegraph,  George  G.  Fogg 
referred  sneeringly  in  the  Monitor  and  Independent 
Democrat,  making  light  of  Rollins's  ability  as  a  polit 
ical  organizer,  and  saying  that  Rollins's  connection  with 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  unfitted  him  for  chairman 
of  the  State  committee.  Fogg  followed  up  this  attack 
upon  Rollins  by  further  attacks  upon  him  and  upon 
Chandler  and  Ordway,  denouncing  them  with  all  the 
bitterness  of  which  he  was  capable.  Moreover,  these 
attacks  continued  throughout  the  campaign.  About 
this  time,  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway  secured  an 
interest  in  the  New  Hampshire  Statesman,  and  this 
newspaper  became  their  weapon  of  defence.  The  war 
fare  thus  begun  by  Fogg  continued,  becoming  more 
and  more  vehement  until  the  merging  of  the  Statesman 
and  the  Independent  Democrat  into  one  paper  in  1871. 

Jacob  H.  Ela,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  and  Jacob  Benton 


EOLLINS   RESUMES    THE    CHAIRMANSHIP     219 

were  all  renominated  for  Congress  by  acclamation, 
having  served  but  one  term. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  January 
20,  1869.  Ira  A.  Eastman  presided.  Democratic  sen 
timent  in  the  State  was  divided  between  John  Bedel,  of 
Bath,  and  Albert  R.  Hatch,  of  Portsmouth,  for  a  can 
didate  for  governor.  Before  the  ballot  was  taken  in 
the  convention,  Hatch's  name  was  withdrawn,  and 
Bedel  received  392  votes  out  of  433  cast. 

Ellery  A.  Hibbard,  of  Laconia,,  was  nominated  for 
Congress  in  the  first  district,  Hosea  W.  Parker,  of 
Claremont,  in  the  third  district,  and  Edward  W.  Har 
rington,  of  Manchester,  was  renominated  in  the  second 
district.  Samuel  B.  Page,  of  Warren,  was  elected 
chairman  of  the  State  committee,  and  Henry  H.  Met- 
calf,  of  Concord,  secretary. 

Page  has  had  an  interesting  legislative  career,  repre 
senting  at  different  times  the  towns  of  Warren,  Haver- 
hill,  and  Concord  in  the  legislature.  A  fluent  speaker, 
a  skilled  parliamentarian,  well  versed  in  the  history  of 
the  State,  he  is  without  doubt  the  readiest  debater  the 
State  has  ever  produced.  His  forte  is  in  directing  a 
parliamentary  contest.  Eor  a  number  of  sessions  of 
the  legislature  he  was  an  active  leader  of  the  Demo 
cratic  minority. 

Metcalf's  name  has  been  associated  with  New  Hamp 
shire  politics  for  more  than  a  generation.  After  read 
ing  law  he  embarked  in  newspaper  work,  and  for 
nearly  forty  years  he  has  been  an  aggressive  editorial 
writer.  Honest  but  intense  in  his  convictions,  he  has 


220  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

impartially  distributed  praise  or  criticism  upon  both 
friend  and  foe.  His  Democracy  has  known  no  shadow 
of  turning,  for  at  all  times  and  in  all  circumstances  he 
has  stood  forth  preeminently  as  the  exponent  and  de 
fender  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party.  Of 
late  years  through  his  membership  in  the  Grange  he  has 
done  much  to  promote  the  interests  of  New  Hampshire. 
The  campaign  of  1869  was  more  marked  by  signs  of 
impending  trouble  in  the  Republican  party  through 
the  quarrel  of  Fogg  with  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ord- 
way  than  by  strenuous  activities  on  the  part  of  either 
State  committee  to  carry  the  election.  Whatever  hopes 
the  Democrats  had  of  making  gains  in  this  election 
were  based  upon  Republican  dissensions.  The  Repub 
lican  victory  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1868  had 
been  so  pronounced  that  a  Democratic  triumph  in  the 
State  was  not  probable.  Besides  this,  a  Republican 
national  administration  would  be  inaugurated  just 
before  the  New  Hampshire  election  in  March,  and 
this,  with  the  assurance  it  gave  of  superseding  John 
son  men  in  federal  positions  by  Republicans,  kept  the 
latter  in  line  for  the  election,  however  much  they  might 
afterward  give  countenance  to  Fogg's  warfare  upon 
the  Republican  leaders.  The  election  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  Stearns  as  governor  by  more  than  thirty-five 
hundred  majority,  and  the  election  of  all  the  Repub 
lican  candidates  for  Congress.  The  legislature  was 
also  Republican  by  a  good  majority.  The  vote  for 
governor  was  as  follows :  Scattering,  42 ;  John  Bedel, 
32,057;  Onslow  Stearns,  35,772. 


CHAPTEK    XIII. 

HOSTILITY    TO    THE    ORGANIZATION 

THERE  were  early  signs  that  the  campaign  of  1870 
would  be  troublesome  to  the  Republicans.  The  causes 
of  apprehension  were  numerous.  There  was  pro 
nounced  dissatisfaction  with  the  administration  at 
Washington.  The  attacks  upon  President  Grant  from 
within  the  party,  which  culminated  in  the  liberal 
Republican  bolt  of  1872,  had  begun.  There  were 
indications  in  New  Hampshire  of  Republican  disloy 
alty  to  the  national  administration.  There  were  also 
dissensions  in  the  Republican  party  of  the  State. 
There  were  Republicans  who  felt  that  they  had  not 
been  sufficiently  recognized,  and  attributed  their  fail 
ure  of  recognition  to  the  "  machine,"  as  those  who 
guided  the  Republican  organization  were  called.  Rol 
lins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway,  who  for  a  decade  had  been 
acting  together  in  party  management  and  in  the  dis 
tribution  of  patronage,  were,  in  the  minds  of  the  dis 
satisfied,  the  "  machine."  Neither  Rollins  nor  Chand 
ler  then  held  office,  but  Ordway  was  still  sergeant-at- 
arms  of  the  national  House  of  Representatives,  a  posi 
tion  which  gave  him  a  large  acquaintance  with  public 

221 


222  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

men  and  no  inconsiderable  political  influence.  Rol 
lins,  however,  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
committee,  and  Chandler  was  secretary  of  the  national 
committee.  These  party  recognitions  gave  them  pres 
tige  both  in  the  State  and  in  the  country  at  large,  while 
in  the  popular  mind  they  were  thought  to  exert  a 
greater  influence  upon  nominations  and  appointments 
in  the  State  than  they  really  did.  Republicans  whose 
ambitions  met  with  disappointment  attributed  their 
failure  to  the  machinations  of  these  three  men. 

George  G.  Fogg,  editor  of  the  Daily  Monitor  and 
Weekly  Independent  Democrat,  was  openly  attacking 
the  Republican  "  machine,'7  giving  expression  in  his 
newspapers  to  his  personal  enmity  to  Rollins,  Chand 
ler,  and  Ordway,  while  he  encouraged  the  grievances 
of  discontented  Republicans.  Fogg  had  been  a  free-soil 
Democrat.  He  had  been  elected  Secretary  of  the  State 
at  the  time  John  P.  Hale  was  first  sent  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  He  was  a  vigorous  and  aggressive 
writer,  and  as  a  newspaper  editor  did  valiant  service 
in  the  cause  of  freedom.  His  trenchant  pen  contrib 
uted  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the 
State,  and  in  the  contest  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
he  was  a  power.  With  the  success  of  the  American 
party  in  1855  he  had  been  made  law  reporter  of  the 
State,  a  position  he  held  until  1859,  when  he  was  suc 
ceeded  by  William  E.  Chandler.  The  State  printing, 
which  even  in  those  days  was  a  tidy  bit  of  patronage, 
went  to  his  printing-office  at  various  times  after  the 
Republican  party  came  into  power.  In  the  campaign 


HOSTILITY    TO    THE    ORGANIZATION          223 

of  1860  he  was  secretary  of  the  Kepublican  national 
committee.  When  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  President, 
further  recognition  was  given  to  Fogg  by  his  appoint 
ment  as  minister  to  Switzerland,  a  position  both  hon 
orable  and  lucrative.  With  the  accession  of  Andrew 
Johnson  to  the  Presidency,  Fogg  was  removed.  He 
felt  that  his  removal  was  due  to  the  influence  of  Chand 
ler  and  the  indifference  of  Rollins.  Such,  however, 
was  not  the  case.  The  correspondence  of  Rollins  and 
Chandler  of  that  period  shows  that  an  earnest  effort 
was  made  by  Chandler,  then  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  supported  by  Rollins,  to  secure  the  ap 
pointment  of  Fogg  as  minister  to  Denmark,  after  it 
was  ascertained  that  he  could  not  remain  in  Switzer 
land.  Fogg  was  later  appointed  United  States  Senator 
to  fill  a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Daniel 
Clark.  He  served  in  this  position  from  August  31, 
1866,  to  March  4,  186T.  This  appointment  was  made 
within  a  year  after  his  return  from  Switzerland.  With 
Fogg's  retirement  from  the  Senate  began  his  opposition 
to  the  management  of  the  Republican  party  of  New 
Hampshire  by  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  Ordway,  an  op 
position  which  in  1870  had  ripened  into  open  hostility. 
Another  troublesome  feature  of  this  campaign  was 
the  attitude  of  the  extreme  Prohibitionists  of  the  State. 
They  were  dissatisfied  with  the  enforcement  of  the  pro 
hibitory  law  and  they  charged  the  party  in  power  with 
lack  of  sympathy  with  the  law.  At  the  previous  session 
of  the  legislature  they  had  demanded  the  passage  of  a 
State  constabulary  law,  to  provide  a  State  police  to 


224  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

enforce  the  prohibitory  statute.  This  demand  was 
granted  on  condition  that  it  be  approved  by  popular 
vote  in  November  following.  At  a  special  election 
called  for  this  purpose  the  law  was  beaten  by  a  large 
majority.  The  disappointed  Prohibitionists  now  de 
manded  the  formation  of  a  third  party.  At  the  head 
of  this  movement  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lorenzo  D.  Bar 
rows,  a  Methodist  minister,  who  at  that  time  was 
president  of  the  Methodist  school  at  Tilton.  Doctor 
Barrows  occupied  a  similar  position  in  New  Hamp 
shire  in  regard  to  prohibition  to  that  held  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Alonzo  A.  Miner  in  Massachusetts.  In  many  ways 
there  was  a  strong  resemblance  between  these  two  men. 
Both  were  self-educated,  and  both  were  at  the  head  of 
educational  institutions.  Both  were  men  of  uncom 
promising  natures,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  lead  a 
forlorn  hope  in  defence  of  the  principles  they  espoused. 
Both  had  been  earnest  advocates  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery. 

A  call  for  a  convention  to  meet  at  Concord,  January 
11,  18 TO,  to  consider  the  question  of  the  formation 
of  a  Prohibitory  party  was  issued.  At  the  election  in 
March,  1869,  Governor  Stearns  had  been  chosen  by  a 
majority  of  about  3,700,  with  only  42  independent 
and  scattering  votes,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  67,829. 
Yet,  a  third  party  movement  at  this  time  menaced 
Republican  success,  especially  as  another  call  for  an 
independent  political  convention  had  been  issued  in 
behalf  of  the  labor  reformers  to  meet  the  last  of  the 
month.  The  energies  of  the  Republican  leaders  were, 


HOSTILITY   TO   THE    ORGANIZATION          225 

therefore,  directed  to  heading  off  any  third  party  or 
ganization.  In  this  work  they  were  aided  by  many 
friends  of  the  prohibitory  law,  who  believed  that  a 
third  party  would  contribute  to  the  success  of  the  Dem 
ocrats,  who  were  known  to  favor  the  repeal  of  the  law. 
The  convention  from  start  to  finish  showed  two 
determined  factions  —  one  to  force  a  separate  nom 
ination  for  governor,  and  the  other,  to  question  the 
wisdom  of  such  a  course.  Nearly  all  the  delegates 
were  Republicans.  The  third  party  Prohibitionists 
won  by  a  large  majority  with  Doctor  Barrows  as  their 
standard-bearer.  About  a  third  of  the  delegates  with 
drew  from  the  convention  and,  holding  a  conference  in 
another  place,  declared  their  opposition  to  a  third  ticket 
at  this  time. 

The  labor  reformers'  convention  met  at  Concord, 
January  28,  1870.  This  movement  had  gained  some 
headway  in  Massachusetts  the  fall  before,  the  party 
there  polling  several  thousand  votes.  Several  of  the 
Massachusetts  reformers  had  been  doing  missionary 
work  in  New  Hampshire  since  the  Massachusetts  elec 
tion.  The  narrow  margin  of  Republican  ascendency  in 
New  Hampshire  gave  promise  that  a  new  party  might 
hold  the  balance  of  power  and  perhaps  produce  a  polit 
ical  upheaval  in  the  State.  The  jealousies  of  the  Repub 
lican  leaders  were  known,  and  the  State  seemed  a  good 
field  for  the  formation  of  an  independent  political 
party.  Engaged  in  the  enterprise  were  some  disaf 
fected  Republicans,  but  the  larger  number  of  the  pro 
moters  were  Democrats.  Both  of  the  old  party  leaders 


226  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

were  apprehensive  of  the  movement  and  the  party 
newspapers  referred  to  it  gingerly.  The  Republicans 
made  some  effort  to  control  the  convention,  but  in  this 
they  were  unsuccessful. 

The  leading  delegates  of  Republican  antecedents 
were  John  H.  Goodale,  of  Northfield,  Andrew  J.  Fogg, 
of  Concord,  and  Samuel  Flint,  of  Lyme.  Goodale  waa 
a  writer  and  lecturer  of  some  repute,  a  man  of  pleasant 
address,  with  much  capacity  as  an  organizer.  He  was 
undoubtedly  the  directing  force  of  the  movement,  al 
though  not  prominent  in  its  preliminary  work.  Fogg 
was  a  newspaper  writer  with  a  penchant  for  statistics, 
and  later  compiling  a  gazetteer  of  New  Hampshire. 
Flint  was  a  farmer,  with  a  leaning  to  soft  money  prin 
ciples,  who  had  come  before  the  public  as  a  declaimer 
against  bondholders. 

After  organization  an  informal  ballot  was  taken  for 
a  candidate  for  governor,  which  showed  an  almost  equal 
vote  for  Samuel  Flint,  of  Lyme,  and  James  A.  Weston, 
of  Manchester.  The  latter  had  been  reflected  a  second 
time  mayor  of  Manchester  by  the  Democrats.  Before 
the  formal  ballot  was  taken,  Goodale  warned  the  con 
vention  not  to  take  their  candidate  from  a  minority 
party  if  they  hoped  for  success.  Heeding  this  warn 
ing,  the  convention  nominated  Flint,  and  adopted  a 
platform  of  principles. 

The  Republican  and  Democratic  conventions  had 
already  met  and  nominated  their  candidates.  At  the 
Republican  convention,  Governor  Stearns,  who  had 
made  a  very  acceptable  chief  magistrate,  was  renom- 


HOSTILITY    TO    THE    ORGANIZATION  227 

inated  by  acclamation.  The  Democratic  convention 
renominated  John  Bedel,  of  Bath.  The  Democratic 
party  at  this  time  was  divided  into  two  factions  strug 
gling  for  control  of  the  organization.  John  II.  Pear 
son,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Concord,  who  was  a  man  of 
indomitable  will,  had  broken  with  the  leaders  of  the 
party  after  his  defeat  for  State  Senator  in  1868,  and 
had  established  a  newspaper  at  the  capital  called  The 
People.  His  slogan  was  anti-monopoly,  and  he  soon 
acquired  an  extensive  following  in  the  State.  Affiliated 
with  Pearson  were  Edmund  Burke,  of  Newport,  Harry 
Bingham,  of  Littleton,  and  other  leading  Democrats 
who  were  hostile  to  the  leadership  of  John  II.  George, 
Josiah  Minot,  John  M.  Hill,  and  William  Butterfield ; 
the  latter  disciples  of  Franklin  Pierce  and  his  succes 
sors  in  the  control  and  leadership  of  the  party.  A 
climax  in  this  struggle  for  control  was  reached  later 
in  the  campaign  and  contributed  materially  to  the 
reelection  of  Governor  Stearns  by  the  people. 

At  an  early  meeting  of  the  Republican  State  com 
mittee  for  organization,  Rollins  declined  to  be  a  can 
didate  for  reelection  as  chairman.  The  hostility  of 
George  G.  Fogg  to  the  triumvirate  of  Rollins,  Chand 
ler,  and  Ordway  led  him  to  take  this  step,  in  which 
he  was  supported  by  both  Chandler  and  Ordway,  who 
felt  as  he  did,  that  Fogg  and  his  followers  should  be 
given  no  excuse  for  not  heartily  supporting  the  ticket. 
The  committee  refused  to  consider  his  declination,  and 
on  the  motion  of  one  who  had  previously  opposed  his 
continuing  at  the  head  of  the  organization  he  was 


228  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

unanimously  reflected.  The  present  peril  of  the  party 
was  dwelt  upon  by  members  of  the  committee  and  Rol 
lins  was  urged  to  sink  all  personal  considerations  and 
stand  by  the  ship.  Reluctantly  he  took  the  matter  under 
consideration  pending  a  later  meeting  of  the  commit 
tee.  He  then  wrote  Chandler  as  follows: 

"  I  am  forced  to  believe  that  we  have  leading  men 
who  would  welcome  defeat  rather  than  success  under 
present  circumstances.  For  the  cause  I  am  willing 
to  make  any  sacrifice  necessary.  I  have  no  aspirations 
in  the  way  of  duty.  I  can  easily  clear  the  track  and 
let  other  ambitious  men  have  the  field  if  that  will  help 
the  cause  and  assure  our  success.  At  any  rate  I  desire 
and  intend  to  be  relieved  of  the  chairmanship  so  that 
the  great  leaders  may  feel  at  liberty  to  do  something 
to  help  the  cause." 

At  the  second  meeting  of  the  committee  early  in 
February,  he  again  tendered  his  resignation,  and  was 
met  with  the  same  objections  that  the  peril  of  the  party 
did  not  permit  it.  He  was,  therefore,  persuaded  to 
accept.  Writing  immediately  to  Chandler,  he  said: 

"  We  have  had  our  State  committee  meeting  and  1 
am  still  chairman.  I  read  your  telegram  and  also 
Ordway's,  and  wanted  very  much  to  resign,  but  could 
not  find  a  single  member,  friend  or  foe,  who  would 
consent.  I  may  have  made  a  mistake  in  remaining, 
but  have  listened  to  the  advice  of  friends  who  are  very 
anxious  about  the  result  in  the  State.  I  did  not  want 
to  do  anything  that  would  look  like  deserting  them  or 
the  ship,  and  you  and  Ordway  must  make  the  best  of 


HOSTILITY   TO   THE   ORGANIZATION          229 

my  blunder,  if  I  have  made  one,  and  do  all  in  your 
power  to  help  us  through.  .  .  .  We  had  a  full  meeting 
and  many  of  our  folks  are  somewhat  alarmed  about  the 
Labor  Keform  movement.  I  hope  we  can  head  it  off. 
The  Labor  League  is  at  work.  It  organized  in  this 
city  to-night. " 

To  this  letter  Chandler  replied  three  days  later,  as 
follows : 

"  Yours  of  the  5th  inst.  is  at  hand.  On  the  whole, 
you  probably  did  right  in  remaining  chairman.  If  you 
had  resigned  immediately  after  you  were  unanimously 
elected  it  would  have  been  better.  You  could  have 
done  just  as  much  work  in  the  campaign  for  yourself 
and  the  cause,  without  increasing  those  confounded 
jealousies  and  continuing  an  impression  that  it  is  nec 
essary  to  your  influence  in  the  politics  of  New  Hamp 
shire  that  you  should  remain  chairman  of  the  commit 
tee.  As  it  stands  now,  it  is  useless  to  expect  certain 
men  to  give  you  any  credit  if  the  State  is  carried,  while 
any  mishap  that  takes  place  will  be  charged  to  your 
account,  but  you  are  in  it  and  must  go  through." 

Alt  a  later  date,  when  Rollins  did  retire  from  the 
chairmanship  of  the  State  committee,  and  assisted 
others  to  guide  the  party  to  victory,  he  increased  his 
prestige  and  following  in  the  State.  As  Chandler  pre 
dicted,  he  gained  no  credit  from  his  enemies  for  his 
work  in  this  campaign  after  the  victory  was  won. 
Whether  in  this  particular  campaign  his  work  would 
have  been  as  effective,  had  he  been  at  headquarters 
without  official  recognition,  it  is  difficult  at  this  time 


230  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

to  say.  There  existed  a  confidence  among  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  party  in  Rollins's  management,  which 
no  other  chairman  could  have  inspired,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  Fogg,  even  his  enemies  and  rivals  were 
free  to  admit  this. 

The  problem  which  confronted  Rollins  at  that  time 
is  always  a  difficult  one  for  any  individual  to  solve.  It 
comes  home  occasionally  to  every  political  leader,  even 
though  his  leadership  comprises  only  a  small  commu 
nity.  Rollins  could  hardly  be  unconscious  of  his  supe 
rior  equipment  for  the  post  of  chairman,  for  his  friends 
and  admirers  were  constantly  asserting  it  and  his  en 
emies  conceding  it.  Whatever  a  regard  for  his  own 
future  might  dictate,  his  love  of  the  party  and  the  ap 
peals  of  party  men  to  him  to  stand  by  the  organization 
for  just  one  more  campaign  overcame  his  scruples.  He 
knew  the  jealousies  his  acceptance  would  provoke,  but 
he  doubtless  thought  that  his  successful  leadership 
would  neutralize  these  with  the  people  of  the  State. 
It  was  understood  that  he  would  be  a  candidate  for  the 
United  States  Senate  before  the  legislature  to  be  chosen, 
but  there  is  nothing  in  his  correspondence  to  show  that 
he  broached  his  ambition  to  any  one  until  after  the 
election.  That  Rollins  used  his  position  as  chairman 
of  the  State  committee  to  advance  his  Senatorial  am 
bitions  is  refuted  by  all  those  who  were  ever  intimately 
associated  with  him  at  party  headquarters,  but  his 
rivals  honestly  thought  that  he  did,  and  they  knew 
that  there  is  a  distinct  advantage  to  any  Senatorial 
aspirant  in  being  brought  into  immediate  association 


HOSTILITY    TO    THE    ORGANIZATION          231 

with  candidates  for  the  legislature  during  the  cam 
paign,  as  must  necessarily  be  the  case  with  the  chair 
man  of  the  committee.  Charles  H.  Roberts,  who  was 
for  several  years  associated  with  Rollins  as  secretary 
or  treasurer  of  the  committee,  says :  "  Rollins  was  one 
of  the  most  unselfish  political  leaders  I  ever  knew.  He 
fought  campaigns  for  the  whole  party  until  the  battle 
was  won." 

John  Kimball,  of  Concord,  who  was  treasurer 
of  the  State  committee  for  many  years,  and  Daniel 
Hall,  who  was  chairman  at  a  later  period,  speak  in  the 
same  vein  of  Rollins' s  fairness  in  conducting  political 
campaigns. 

James  A.  Wood,  for  thirty  years  an  active  member 
of  the  State  committee,  and  for  several  campaigns  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee,  says  that  Rollins 
disregarded  all  personal  considerations  while  leading 
the  Republican  forces. 

In  the  same  tenor  both  Senator  Jacob  H.  Gallinger 
and  Congressman  Frank  D.  Currier,  who  were  asso 
ciated  with  Rollins  in  the  campaign  of  1882,  bear  wit 
ness  to  his  sinking  all  personal  ambitions  when  a 
campaign  was  in  progress. 

In  this  very  campaign  of  18  TO  Rollins  wrote  Will 
iam  E.  Waterhouse,  of  Barrington,  as  follows :  "  Don't 
trouble  yourself  about  the  election  of  a  United  States 
Senator.  That  will  settle  itself  after  the  election,  but 
do  make  sure  to  send  us  two  good,  true-blue  Republi 
can  Representatives,  as  that  is  the  important  matter  in 
the  present  crisis  of  our  political  affairs." 


232  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Senator  Cragin,  who  was  a  candidate  for  reelection 
as  United  States  Senator,  writing  Rollins,  February 
10,  1870,  about  the  election  and  the  importance  of 
securing  Republican  representatives  in  the  close  towns, 
said :  "I  know  you  will  do  your  whole  duty  and  I  wish 
I  could  say  as  much  of  all  our  friends."  Later  he 
wrote  Rollins :  "I  am  glad  you  did  not  resign  as  chair 
man.  It  would  have  been  bad  policy  at  this  time.  I 
am  sure  I  appreciate  your  efficient  and  untiring 
labors." 

That  all  of  Rollins's  rivals  could  not  take  this  gen 
erous  view  of  the  situation  is  but  natural.  They  ac 
quiesced  in  his  reelection  as  chairman  because  the 
party  demanded  it,  but  they  probably  gained  as  much 
by  his  acceptance  in  using  it  later  against  his  can 
didacy  for  the  Senate,  as  he  himself  gained  in  the 
estimation  of 'the  people  when  the  victory  was  won  and 
they  realized  that  he  was  instrumental  in  winning  it. 

Fogg  made  a  direct  and  bitter  attack  in  his  news 
papers  upon  Rollins  after  his  election  as  chairman, 
asserting  that  it  was  the  outcome  of  sharp  practice  and 
that  Rollins's  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  unfitted  him  for  leadership  of  the  party.  He  also 
belittled  Rollins's  qualifications  for  the  position. 
Strange  to  say,  neither  Democratic  newspaper  at  the 
capital  quotes  or  refers  to  this  attack  of  Fogg,  although 
it  would  have  furnished  campaign  material  for  the 
Democratic  party. 

The  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  were  further 
embarrassed  in  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  by  a 


HOSTILITY   TO   THE    ORGANIZATION          233 

speech  in  Congress  made  by  Henry  L.  Dawes,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  then  chairman  of  the  appropriations  commit 
tee  of  the  House,  severely  criticizing  as  extravagant 
the  estimates  of  the  departments  for  the  coming  fiscal 
year,  and  demanding  rigid  economy  in  the  appropria 
tions  to  be  made.  The  Democrats  hailed  this  speech 
as  convincing  evidence  of  shortcomings  on  the  part  of 
the  national  administration.  It  was  published  broad 
cast  over  the  State.  It  caused  consternation  among 
the  Republicans  and  raised  the  hopes  of  the  Democrats. 

The  outlook  for  the  Republicans  was  anything  but 
propitious.  If  Rollins  had  sought  personal  vindication 
he  had  but  to  retire  from  the  chairmanship  of  the  State 
committee  to  see  the  party  go  to  probable  defeat.  The 
rank  and  file,  however,  demanded  his  continuance  at 
the  head  of  the  committee,  and  hostile  or  jealous 
leaders  preferred  to  throw  upon  him  the  responsibility 
of  the  campaign  to  assuming  it  themselves. 

The  work  before  the  State  committee  was  to  prevent 
further  Republican  accession  to  the  Prohibition  and 
Labor  Reform  parties,  to  ascertain  what  disaffection 
existed,  to  harmonize  differences,  to  secure  active  work 
from  Republican  leaders  all  over  the  State,  and  to 
change  the  campaign  from  one  of  defence  to  one  of 
aggression.  To  this  work  Rollins  gave  attention  with 
his  accustomed  foresight  and  energy. 

He  wrote  Congressman  Dawes  about  the  use  the 
Democrats  were  making  of  his  speech,  and  pointed  out 
to  him  the  necessity  of  his  appearing  in  the  State  to 
answer  the  Democratic  charges.  Dawes  responded  that 


234  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

he  would  speak  the  last  week  of  the  campaign,  and  this 
fact  was  announced  to  offset  the  political  capital  the 
Democrats  were  accumulating. 

Well-known  temperance  Republicans  were  set  to 
work  to  neutralize  the  efforts  of  the  Prohibitionists. 
To  counteract  the  Labor  Reform  movement  Republican 
labor  leagues  were  organized  in  manufacturing  dis 
tricts.  Ostensibly,  the  work  of  organizing  these  leagues 
was  in  the  hands  of  labor  men,  but  the  expense  was 
borne  by  the  Republican  State  committee.  Lysander 
H.  Carroll,  a  friend  of  Rollins,  was  elected  treasurer 
of  the  State  League,  and  through  him  were  made  the 
disbursements  by  the  Republican  State  committee  in 
its  behalf.  Thus  the  work  was  brought  in  touch  with 
the  direction  of  the  chairman.  All  through  the  cam 
paign  Fogg  condemned  the  league  as  out  of  harmony 
with  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  because  of 
its  secret  work.  He  insinuated  that  it  was  organized  in 
the  interest  of  some  candidate  for  the  United  States 
Senate,  implying  that  it  was  a  device  to  promote  Rol- 
lins's  aspirations.  In  spite  of  this  back  fire,  the  league 
served  its  purpose,  and  neutralized  much  of  the  work 
of  the  Labor  Reform  party  leaders. 

The  Labor  Reform  party  started  a  campaign  news 
paper  which  was  published  at  the  printing-office  of 
the  Democratic  People.  Rollins  emphasized  this  fact 
as  proving  the  alliance  of  the  Labor  Reform  and  Demo 
cratic  parties.  The  Prohibitionists  had  a  newspaper 
published  at  Tilton,  the  home  of  Doctor  Barrows,  and 
edited  by  him,  but  the  canvass  of  this  party  awakened 


HOSTILITY   TO    THE    ORGANIZATION          235 

little  public  interest.  It  was  conceded  that  the  ticket 
would  poll  a  thousand  votes,  which  of  itself  would  not 
be  dangerous.  If  the  Labor  Reform  party  should 
secure  any  considerable  number  of  Republican  recruits 
the  result  would  be  extremely  doubtful. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  campaign  the  internal  dis 
sensions  of  the  Democratic  leaders  cropped  out  in  the 
attempt  of  the  Pearson  wing  to  transfer  the  Democratic 
vote  from  Bedel,  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor, 
to  Flint,  the  Labor  Reform  candidate.  There  was  no 
secret  ballot  at  this  time,  and  political  parties  printed 
their  own  ballots.  The  Democrats  were  confident  that, 
with  four  gubernatorial  candidates  in  the  field,  there 
would  be  no  election  of  governor  by  the  people,  and 
they  were  equally  confident  that  the  Democrats  and 
Labor  Reformers  together  would  control  the  legisla 
ture.  The  Democratic  State  committee  was  called  to 
gether  about  two  weeks  before  the  election,  and,  in 
anticipation  of  victory,  the  question  of  the  division  of 
spoils  was  considered.  While  no  public  action  appears 
to  have  been  taken,  certain  Democratic  leaders  assumed 
that,  if  a  Labor  Reformer  were  elected  governor,  the 
Democrats  would  have  the  right  to  name  the  United 
States  Senator  to  be  chosen  by  the  legislature.  To 
make  Flint  a  constitutional  candidate  before  the  legis 
lature,  he  would  have  to  be  one  of  the  two  candidates 
having  the  highest  popular  vote.  Thereupon,  a  large 
number  of  Democratic  ballots  were  prepared  with 
Flint's  name  at  the  head  of  the  ticket.  These  were 
sent  out  to  some  of  the  towns.  The  facts  were  soon 


236  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

known  at  Republican  headquarters  and  exploited  in  the 
newspapers.  The  campaign  up  to  that  time  on  the 
part  of  the  Republicans  had  been  a  labored  one,  but 
Rollins  immediately  took  the  offensive  and  charged 
home  to  the  Democrats  that  the  Labor  Reform  move 
ment  was  nothing  but  a  Democratic  conspiracy  to  at 
tain  power  by  false  pretences.  The  Patriot  and  other 
old-line  Democratic  papers  denounced  the  scheme  and 
repudiated  it.  The  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State 
committee  made  a  quasi  denial  in  behalf  of  the  com 
mittee,  but  the  facts  could  not  be  disputed.  The  Dem 
ocrats  of  the  State  were  astounded  at  the  exposure,  but 
as  usual  were  rallied  to  the  polls. 

Congressman  Dawes  appeared  the  last  week  of  the 
campaign  and  explained  his  position  to  the  satisfaction 
of  New  Hampshire  Republicans.  The  latter  were  now 
filled  with  confidence  and  Rollins  gave  out  to  the  pub 
lic,  as  usual,  his  canvass  of  the  state  in  advance  of 
election,  to  have  it  verified  at  the  polls.  Governor 
Stearns's  majority  was  reduced  from  3,700  the  year 
before  to  1,200  in  a  total  vote  only  600  larger.  The 
Prohibition  vote  accounted  for  1,135  of  this  reduction, 
and  it  therefore  appeared  that  about  1,400  Republi 
cans  remained  in  the  Labor  Reform  party  to  vote  that 
ticket.  The  popular  vote  was:  Scattering,  33;  Lo 
renzo  D.  Barrows,  1,135;  Samuel  Flint,  7,369;  John 
Bedel,  25,058 ;  Onslow  Stearns,  34,847. 

The  Monitor,  reviewing  the  result,  said :  "  The  re 
sult  of  our  late  election  has  carried  joy  into  Republican 
hearts  all  over  the  land  and  the  more  so  that  there  was 


HOSTILITY   TO    THE   ORGANIZATION          237 

an  almost  universal  apprehension  of  a  different  re 
sult." 

The  Statesman  said :  "  In  considering  the  instru 
mentalities  that  worked  together  to  accomplish  the 
glorious  Republican  triumph  just  achieved  in  this 
State,  the  active  and  well-directed  efforts  of  Edward 
H.  Rollins,  the  able  chairman  of  the  State  committee, 
should  be  gratefully  remembered." 

The  Republican  speakers  in  this  campaign  from 
other  States  were  United  States  Senators  James  W. 
Nye,  of  Nevada,  and  Frederick  A.  Sawyer,  of  South 
Carolina,  Congressman  Henry  L.  Dawes,  of  Massa 
chusetts,  Thomas  Fitch,  of  Nevada,  Charles  H.  Van 
Wyck,  of  New  York,  and  James  B.  Belford,  of  Col 
orado,  afterward  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 
that  State. 

The  contest  for  the  Senatorship  opened  soon  after 
the  election.  The  active  candidates  were  Aaron  H. 
Cragin,  Edward  H.  Rollins,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  and 
Mason  W.  Tappan.  There  was  newspaper  mention  of 
Oilman  Marston,  Frederick  Smyth,  Walter  Harriman, 
and  some  others.  Cragin  had  served  two  terms  in  Con 
gress  and  was  closing  his  first  term  in  the  Senate.  His 
career  in  the  national  legislature,  although  not  bril 
liant,  had  been  creditable.  He  had  been  an  indus 
trious  and  hard-working  Senator,  attentive  to  the 
wants  of  his  constituents,  and  he  had  escaped  enmity 
in  the  State.  Accepting  the  contest  for  his  position 
in  good  part  he  succeeded  in  keeping  his  rivals  more 
friendly  to  him  than  they  were  to  one  another.  Cragin 


238  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

was  a  practical  politician,  and  it  was  not  denied  that  he 
had  done  his  share  of  work  to  keep  the  State  Republi 
can.  The  shibboleth  raised  against  him  was  the  cry 
of  "  rotation  in  office."  This  was  the  argument  of  Rol 
lins  and  of  the  other  candidates.  The  question  was 
discussed  with  earnestness  in  the  party  press,  the  Ex 
eter  News  Letter,  the  Manchester  Mirror,  and  the 
Nashua  Telegraph  advocating  rotation.  The  political 
history  of  the  State  was  ransacked  to  prove  that  giving 
Cragin  another  continuous  term  in  the  Senate  in  addi 
tion  to  his  two  terms  in  the  House,  was  without  prece 
dent,  and  it  seemed  at  one  time  as  if  this  argument 
would  defeat  him.  But  Cragin  had  given  his  personal 
attention  to  the  election  of  members  of  the  legislature 
and  had  a  strong  and  resourceful  following. 

Rollins  was  handicapped  by  his  connection  with  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  This  road  was  not  at  that 
time  popular  with  the  people.  There  was  wide-spread 
suspicion  that  its  directory  was  not  dealing  justly  with 
the  government.  It  was  being  assailed  in  Congress 
and  in  the  press.  Fogg,  in  his  newspapers,  while 
favoring  no  candidate,  neglected  no  opportunity  to 
keep  alive  the  prejudice  against  this  road.  Rollins, 
therefore,  suffered  in  his  candidacy  from  this  general 
feeling;  he  undoubtedly  failed  to  get  support  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  cheerfully  given  to  him. 
His  canvass  appears  to  have  been  made  wholly  through 
appeals  to  his  friends  in  the  State,  and  to  the  mem 
bers-elect  of  the  legislature.  That  he  was  to  be  a  can 
didate  for  the  Senate  he  was  by  no  means  early  in 


HOSTILITY    TO   THE   ORGANIZATION          239 

announcing,  for  Daniel  Hall,  in  a  letter  dated  May  2d, 
writes  him  as  follows :  "  You  will  admit  that  up  to 
within  a  few  weeks  you  have  never  announced  your 
self  a  candidate  for  the  Senate." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  canvass,  Tappan  developed 
a  considerable  following.  Since  his  retirement  from 
Congress,  in  1861,  he  had  been  often  mentioned  for  the 
Senatorship,  but  his  easy-going  disposition  had  led  him 
to  inactivity  in  politics.  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  and 
had  a  good  practice.  Large-hearted  and  generous,  his 
emotions  rather  than  his  judgment  controlled  his 
political  course.  Even  at  this  time  he  was  suspected 
of  discontent  with  the  party  by  the  radical  Eepublican 
leaders  of  the  State.  Two  years  later  this  discontent 
led  Tappan  to  support  Horace  Greeley  for  President. 
His  ability  none  questioned,  for  he  was  welcomed  back 
to  the  Eepublican  party  after  the  collapse  of  liberal 
Republicanism  and  made  attorney-general  of  the  State. 
He  had,  however,  no  turn  for  practical  politics,  and 
could  neither  organize  nor  direct  his  following.  His 
unexpected  strength  as  the  legislature  assembled 
alarmed  the  leaders  and  weakened  Rollins's  support, 
while  it  contributed  to  that  of  Cragin,  whose  Repub 
licanism  was  unquestioned. 

That  Rollins  was  stronger  than  the  votes  in  the 
caucus  showed  is  evident.  Henry  McFarland,  of  Con 
cord,  writing  to  him  from  Washington,  May  20th, 
says :  "  I  am  glad  you  are  setting  up  your  pins  so  well. 
Cheney  (Thomas  P.)  is  here.  He  admits  that  you  are 
making  a  good  battle  and  that,  if  Cragin  is  not  chosen, 


240  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

you  will  be."  McFarland  was  a  neighbor  and  intimate 
friend  of  Rollins  through  life.  For  several  years  he 
was  associated  with  Rollins  in  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  as  his  assistant  and  succeeded  him  as  treasurer 
of  that  corporation. 

The  Manchester  Mirror's  editorial  notes  from  the 
capital  after  the  legislature  met  give  currency  to 
McFarland's  opinion  as  follows :  "  The  Senatorship  is 
still  in  abeyance.  The  partisans  of  Cragin,  Rollins, 
and  Stevens  are  most  active,  and  present  appearances 
indicate  that  the  selection  will  be  made  from  this  trio. 
Rollins  seems  to  be  the  first  choice  of  many  active, 
earnest  men  of  the  party,  and  is  evidently  the  second 
choice  of  a  large  number  of  members,  who  will  at  first 
give  their  influence  to  Cragin  and  Stevens,  or  perhaps 
to  Marston  and  Tappan.  We  can  see  no  chance  as  yet 
for  Marston,  and,  notwithstanding  the  conceded  superi 
ority  of  Tappan,  intellectually,  there  are  not  many 
aspirants  for  official  position  on  his  recommendation.'7 

Chandler,  who  was  in  sympathy  with  Rollins's  as 
pirations,  was  not  able  to  be  present  to  assist  him,  and, 
while  having  the  benefit  of  Chandler's  counsel  in  cor 
respondence,  Rollins  felt  the  lack  of  his  personal  par 
ticipation.  Ordway  also  hoped  for  Rollins's  success, 
but  was  detained  in  Washington  until  after  the  legis 
lature  met.  Nor  did  any  newspaper  directly  advocate 
Rollins's  election.  What  benefit  he  got  from  the  press 
was  indirect,  through  their  championship  of  rotation. 

It  was  admitted  that  Cragin  would  lead  on  the  first 
ballot,  but  how  near  he  would  come  to  a  majority  none 


HOSTILITY   TO   THE    ORGANIZATION          241 

could  tell.  Many  of  his  supporters  were  partial  to 
Rollins.  The  combined  strength  of  Cragin  and  Rollins 
represented  the  sterling  Republicans  of  the  State.  Be 
yond  any  personal  preference,  these  Republicans  were 
determined  to  elect  as  Senator  what  Rollins  had  earlier 
called  a  "  true-blue  Republican."  Apprehension  in 
the  closing  hours  that  the  defeat  of  Cragin  might  be 
followed  in  the  break-up  of  his  strength  by  the  election 
of  Tappan  settled  the  fate  of  Rollins  and  made 
Cragin's  calling  and  election  sure.  Only  two  ballots 
were  necessary.1 

Rollins  was  disappointed  not  so  much  at  defeat  as  at 
the  showing  he  made  in  the  caucus.  His  predictions 
in  political  campaigns  had  been  prophetic,  and  he  had 
encouraged  his  friends  to  believe  that  his  chances  of 
election  as  Senator  were  good.  He  himself  thought 
so.  Writing  after  election  of  his  defeat,  he  said :  "  I 
stood  a  good  chance  until  about  twenty-four  hours  be 
fore  the  caucus,  and  had  about  sixty  votes,  which  would 
have  given  me  the  nomination  after  a  few  ballots,  when 
all  the  influences  combined  to  get  up  a  panic  which 
produced  a  result  surprising  to  everybody." 

First  Ballot  Second  Ballot 

i  Daniel  Clark  1 

Frederick  Smyth  3 

Nathaniel  Gordon  8  5 

Mason  W.  Tappan  21  23 

Edward  H.  Rollins  32  21 

Aaron  F.  Stevens  43  46 

Aaron  H.  Craigin  95  109 


OHAPTEK    XIV. 


GOVERNOR  STEARNS;S  second  administration  gave 
general  satisfaction.  No  State  issue,  unless  it  were 
temperance,  appeared  to  trouble  the  Republican  party, 
but  the  lack  of  cordiality  among  Eepublican  leaders 
still  continued.  There  were,  however,  local  railroad 
troubles  arising  out  of  the  contest  for  the  control  of 
the  Concord  Railroad,  which  did  not  strengthen  the 
party  in  power.  This  contest  went  to  the  courts  and 
their  action  occasioned  criticism.  As  all  but  one  of  the 
supreme  court  judges  were  Republicans,  the  majority 
party  suffered  from  any  dissatisfaction  with  the  court's 
decision.  This  contest,  however,  did  not  play  any 
prominent  part  in  the  subsequent  election.  In  national 
politics,  the  opposition  of  leading  Republicans  of  the 
country  to  President  Grant's  administration  became 
more  pronounced.  In  the  fall  of  1870  the  liberal  Re 
publican  movement  had  its  birth  in  Missouri  in  a  bolt 
of  Republicans  led  by  United  States  Senator  Carl 
Schurz  and  B.  Gratz  Brown,  which  triumphed  in  that 
State  by  a  coalition  with  the  Democrats.  The  other 
State  elections  that  fall  gave  encouragement  to  the 

242 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT          243 

Democratic  party.  The  Monitor,  Fogg's  daily  paper, 
December  29,  1870,  said  of  the  approaching  Republi 
can  State  convention: 

"  Never  since  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  did  more  importance  attach  to  the  selection  of 
the  very  best  and  strongest  candidate.  Party  obliga 
tions  have  not  hung  so  loosely  upon  the  people  for 
many  years  as  at  the  present  time.  With  not  a  few 
who  have  always  hitherto  voted  the  Republican  ticket 
various  moral  questions  have  come  to  be  regarded  as 
of  pressing  if  not  paramount  consequence.  And  it  is 
demanded  that  these  moral  questions  shall  receive  rec 
ognition  at  the  hands  of  the  Republican  party,  not 
merely  in  the  platform  of  resolutions  but  in  the  selec 
tion  of  candidates." 

One  of  the  moral  questions  to  which  Fogg  referred 
was  that  pertaining  to  temperance.  Over  eleven  hun 
dred  voters,  nearly  all  of  them  Republicans,  had  flocked 
to  the  standard  of  the  Prohibitory  party  in  the  preced 
ing  election.  If  this  party  increased  its  vote,  Republi 
can  ascendency  in  New  Hampshire  for  a  time  at  least 
was  at  an  end.  If  these  could  be  won  back,  there  was 
less  danger  of  Democratic  success.  The  view  of  Fogg 
that  not  only  the  platform  should  be  made  to  meet  the 
wishes  of  these  men,  but  that  the  candidate  for  gov 
ernor  should  invite  their  support,  had  earnest  cham 
pions.  In  casting  about  for  such  a  candidate,  the  Rev. 
James  Pike,  of  South  Newmarket,  was  the  choice  of 
many.  He  was  then  fifty-three  years  of  age,  a  presid 
ing  elder  in  the  New  Hampshire  Methodist  Conference, 


244  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  one  of  the  leading  Methodist  clergymen  of  the 
State.  He  had  been  in  Congress  two  terms  with  Mason 
W.  Tappan  and  Aaron  H.  Cragin  as  colleagues,  having 
been  first  elected  by  the  American  party  in  1855.  On 
his  return  from  Washington,  he  had  resumed  his  pas 
toral  duties.  During  the  Civil  War  he  was  appointed 
colonel  of  the  Sixteenth  New  Hampshire  \7olunteers, 
and  served  with  that  regiment  creditably  during  its 
enlistment  of  nine  months. 

Interest  in  the  Republican  State  convention  held 
January  4,  1871,  centred  in  the  nomination  for  gov 
ernor.  There  were  many  active  candidates  for  this 
nomination.  Pike  was  the  leading  candidate,  while 
those  who  doubted  the  wisdom  of  his  nomination 
divided  their  support  principally  among  five  prominent 
men  of  the  State,  with  a  few  votes  given  to  nine  others. 
The  first  ballot  was  as  follows :  James  Pike,  of  South 
Newmarket,  292 ;  Horton  D.  Walker,  of  Portsmouth, 
99;  Benjamin  J.  Cole,  of  Gilford,  74;  Ezekiel  A. 
Straw,  of  Manchester,  65 ;  John  M.  Brackett,  of  Wolf- 
boro,  59 ;  George  W.  Nesmith,  of  Franklin,  25 ; 
scattering,  32. 

This  vote  showed  a,  majority  of  sixty-two  against  Mr. 
Pike's  nomination.  It  was  confidently  believed  by  the 
party  leaders  that  subsequent  ballotings  would  result 
in  the  nomination  of  one  of  the  other  candidates.  Be 
fore  a  second  ballot  could  be  taken,  however,  a  motion 
was  made  to  nominate  Pike  by  acclamation.  It  was 
carried  in  one  of  those  critical  moments  of  a  conven- 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT          245 

tion  when  the  leaders  are  off  their  guard  and  taken  by 
surprise. 

The  Prohibitory  party  met  in  convention  and  voted 
to  make  no  nomination.  The  nomination  of  Pike  by 
the  Republicans  satisfied  the  majority  of  the  Prohibi 
tion  leaders  of  the  sincerity  of  the  Republican  party 
in  supporting  prohibition.  A  minority  of  the  con 
vention,  however,  bolted  its  action  and  nominated  a 
candidate  for  governor.  For  a  time,  the  action  of  the 
Republican  convention  in  nominating  Mr.  Pike  seemed 
to  be  a  politic  move  and  one  likely  to  restore  the  al 
legiance  of  Prohibitionists  to  the  Republican  party. 

The  Democrats  nominated  James  A.  Weston,  whom 
they  had  three  times  elected  mayor  of  Manchester. 
He  was  a  civil  engineer  by  profession,  a  man  of  busi 
ness  ability,  respected  by  the  community  in  which  he 
resided,  and  enjoying  its  confidence.  After  his  retire 
ment  from  politics  he  engaged  in  banking. 

The  Labor  Reformers  met  in  convention  and  for 
mally  put  in  nomination  Lemuel  E.  Cooper,  of  Croy- 
don.  Less  interest  was  shown  in  this  convention  than 
the  year  before,  as  it  was  pretty  generally  understood 
that  the  party  was  simply  an  adjunct  to  the  Democratic 
party. 

The  Republican  Congressional  nominations  were 
disappointing  and  did  not  promote  harmony.  The 
Statesman  before  the  conventions  expressed  the  opinion 
that  "  Republican  success  would  be  more  fully  assured 
by  an  entirely  new  Congressional  ticket  than  by  con 
tinuing  any  present  member  upon  it."  This  was  ad- 


246  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

dressed  largely  to  the  voters  of  the  second  district  where 
Aaron  F.  Stevens  was  a  candidate  for  a  third  term. 
He  was  renominated  after  a  hard  contest.  He  had 
made  enemies  by  his  appointments.  The  cry  of  "  ro 
tation  "  was  revived  and  threats  of  a  bolt  followed  the 
convention  that  nominated  him. 

In  the  first  district  William  B.  Small,  of  New 
market,  was  selected  after  protracted  balloting,  defeat 
ing  Samuel  M.  Wheeler,  of  Dover,  whom  Republicans 
generally  expected  to  be  nominated.  In  the  third  dis 
trict  the  choice  fell  upon  Simon  G.  Griffin,  of  Keene. 
Griffin  had  been  a  gallant  soldier  in  the  Civil  War, 
but  the  very  qualities  which  made  him  an  excellent 
officer  in  the  field  were  not  popular  in  civil  life. 
Then  there  were  local  jealousies  in  the  district  which 
detracted  from  his  support  as  a  candidate.  The  can 
didates  of  the  Democratic  party  were  Ellery  A.  Hib- 
bard,  of  Laconia,  Samuel  1ST.  Bell,  of  Manchester,  and 
Hosea  W.  Parker,  of  Claremont,  the  first  and  last  being 
renominated. 

The  Eepublican  State  committee  met  immediately 
after  the  State  convention  for  the  purpose  of  organiza 
tion.  The  story  of  this  organization  is  best  told  in  the 
correspondence  of  Rollins  and  Chandler.  Writing 
Chandler  January  5th,  Rollins  said: 

"  We  had  a  splendid  convention.  All  were  feeling 
pretty  well,  but  very  anxious.  You  will  see  that  I  was 
reflected  chairman  by  a  unanimous  vote.  I  tried  to 
have  the  matter  postponed,  but  they  insisted  upon  or 
ganization.  When  elected,  I  positively  declined  and 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT          247 

gave  my  reasons  at  length  and  without  excitement.  I 
defined  my  position  fully.  We  must  have  peace  or 
I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  They  would 
not  accept  my  resignation,  but  I  did  not  agree  to  serve. 
We  are  to  have  a  meeting  in  about  two  weeks,  and  in 
the  meantime  Durkee  &  Company  will  see  what  they 
can  do  for  peace.  I  told  them  frankly  that  I  would 
no  longer  act  as  chairman  without  the  cordial  support 
of  all  Eepublicans  and  the  press." 

To  this  letter  Chandler  replied  January  7th,  as  fol 
lows  :  "  Yours  of  the  5th  inst.  is  at  hand.  General 
Stevens  returned  last  night  and  I  had  a  full  talk  with 
him.  He  pretends  to  feel  good-natured  but  is  really 
very  bitter  toward  you  and  our  crowd,  says  that  he 
declined  to  express  any  opinion  in  reference  to  the 
chairmanship  of  the  committee,  that  the  Republican 
party  of  the  State  evidently  had  more  confidence  in 
your  ability  than  they  would  have  in  that  of  any  one 
else,  and  that  he  believed  you  would  intend  to  act  in 
good  faith  and  not  promote  any  bolting  in  his  district, 
although  he  could  not  be  certain  what  you  might  not 
be  drawn  into  if  you  got  angry. 

"  He  evidently  wants  you  to  remain  chairman  of 
the  committee  and  help  elect  him,  but  he  has  not  frank 
ness  enough  to  say  so.  He  barely  admits  that  you 
would  probably  not  be  a  scoundrel  in  the  place.  He 
will  hold  you  responsible  for  all  the  evil  that  results 
and  give  you  no  credit  for  success. 

"  Of  course  I  have  my  opinion  as  to  what  you  should 
do  under  such  circumstances.  If  I  were  in  your  place 


248  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  had  no  well-founded  political  aspirations  for  the 
future  in  connection  with  New  Hampshire,  I  would 
on  no  account  be  chairman  of  the  committee  for  the 
precise  reason  suggested;  you  will  be  held  responsible 
and  condemned  for  every  failure.  You  can  get  by  no 
possibility  any  additional  credit  for  any  success.  On 
any  other  ground  than  that  you  have  future  political 
expectations,  it  will  be  utter  folly  for  you  to  take 
charge  of  and  be  responsible  for  the  campaign. 

"  But,  if  you  have  such  expectations  and  think  there 
is  a  reasonable  chance  for  success  in  them,  of  course 
you  may  be  willing  to  go  forward,  notwithstanding  the 
objections  to  it  which  are  so  apparent.  On  this  point 
I  do  not  advise  you.  Stevens  will,  of  course,  hold  you 
responsible  for  any  bolting  in  Concord. 

"  Of  course  the  attempt  of  Durkee  and  others  to 
make  things  better  in  Concord  will  amount  to  nothing. 
Fogg  will  simply  refrain  from  attacking  you  during 
the  campaign,  which  he  probably  would  do  anyhow. 
More  than  this  he  will  not  agree  to." 

In  addition  to  the  jealousies  occasioned  by  Rollins's 
remaining  chairman,  he  knew  that  he  could  not  give 
the  time  to  the  campaign  its  exigencies  required.  The 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  seeking  legislation  of  Con 
gress  to  relieve  it  of  financial  difficulties,  and,  as  an 
officer  of  that  corporation,  his  presence  would  be  re 
quired  in  Washington.  It  was  the  short  session  of 
Congress,  and  whatever  was  done  must  be  done  before 
the  4th  of  March.  The  second  meeting  of  the  State 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT          249 

committee,  however,  secured  his  acceptance  of  the 
chairmanship. 

It  proved  to  be  a  quiet  campaign.  Fogg  made  no 
attack  upon  Rollins  or  any  member  of  the  "  clique,1' 
and  heartily  supported  the  ticket,  especially  praising 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Pike,  saying :  "  The  candidate 
agreed  upon  is  the  very  best  selection  that  could  have 
been  made."  The  Democrats  attacked  both  the  Repub 
lican  candidate  for  governor  and  the  Republican  plat 
form,  the  former  because  of  his  early  affiliation  with 
the  American  or  Know  Nothing  party,  and  the  latter 
as  a  surrender  to  the  Prohibitionists.  There  was  gen 
eral  apathy  among  Republicans.  Rollins  was  not  at 
headquarters  to  watch  the  campaign  and  to  checkmate 
the  work  of  the  bolting  Republicans.  There  was  little 
public  speaking,  and  no  effort  made  to  arouse  the  party. 
The  Republican  party  press  predicted  victory.  It  took 
no  note  of  the  indifference  of  the  rank  and  file.  The 
Democrats  conducted  a  still  hunt  for  votes  with  suc 
cess,  although  trading  openly  with  the  Labor  Reformers 
whenever  this  was  advantageous.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  campaign  they  became  bolder  and  openly  urged 
their  voters  to  come  to  the  polls  in  anticipation  of 
victory. 

Affairs  at  Washington  contributed  to  Democratic 
confidence.  Mr.  Motley,  our  minister  to  England,  was 
removed  by  President  Grant  as  a  result  of  the  Presi 
dent's  differences  with  Charles  Sumner,  and,  just  be 
fore  election  day,  Sumner  himself  was  removed  from 
the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  foreign  rela- 


250  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tions  by  his  Republican  colleagues  of  the  Senate  for 
the  same  reason.  This  last  act  came  as  a  shock  to  the 
party  in  New  England. 

The  election  returns  were  a  surprise  to  the  people 
of  the  State.  The  morning  after  election  it  was  ap 
parent  that  there  was  no  choice  of  governor  by  the 
people,  Weston  leading  Pike  by  nearly  a  thousand 
votes.  All  three  Democratic  candidates  for  Congress 
were  elected,  and  the  legislature  was  in  doubt.  Both 
sides  claimed  a  majority  of  the  House,  on  which  de 
pended  the  organization  of  the  Senate,  the  control  of 
the  Council  and  the  election  of  governor.  The  vote  for 
governor  was  as  follows :  Scattering,  41 ;  Albert  G. 
Comings,  314 ;  Lemuel  P.  Cooper,  782 ;  James  Pike, 
33,892 ;  James  A.  Weston,  34,700. 

The  Manchester  Mirror  ascribed  Republican  defeat 
to  various  causes,  dragging  temperance  into  the  cam 
paign,  forcing  the  nomination  of  Pike  against  the 
judgment  of  a  majority  of  the  convention,  ignoring  the 
demand  for  rotation  in  office,  the  land-grabbing  jobs 
of  Congress,  the  San  Domingo  scheme,  and  the  removal 
of  Charles  Sumner  from  the  chairmanship  of  the  Sen 
ate  committee  on  foreign  relations. 

The  Statesman  gave  these  same  causes  of  defeat,  and 
said :  "  Had  all  these  causes  of  embarrassment  been 
withheld,  we  might  have  carried  the  State  by  nearly 
the  usual  majority  in  spite  of  demoralization  produced 
in  the  party  by  forcing  upon  it  unpopular  nominations 
made  in  packed  caucuses." 

This  was  the  only  campaign  that  the  Republicans 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT  251 

lost  with  which  Eollins  had  direct  connection.  The 
explanation  is  given  in  his  letter  to  Benjamin  Gerrish, 
Jr.,  written  when  he  was  reorganizing  the  party  for 
the  campaign  of  1872.  This  letter  is  as  follows: 

"  In  regard  to  the  campaign  of  last  spring,  I  must 
confess  that  I  had  but  little  to  do  with  it,  for  I  was 
in  New  Hampshire  but  three  days  before  the  election 
took  place  after  the  campaign  commenced.  The  Pacific 
Railroad  was  having  a  terrific  fight,  a  sort  of  life  and 
death  struggle  in  regard  to  the  payment  of  interest  on 
the  bonds  issued  by  the  government  to  this  company, 
and  it  was  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity  for  me  to  be 
at  Washington,  and  I  remained  until  the  4th  of  March. 
We  secured  the  legislation  we  needed  in  the  very  last 
day  of  the  session  of  Congress,  without  which  this  con 
cern  would  have  been  pretty  much  used  up.  You  see, 
I  was  away  from  necessity  and  not  from  inclination. 
Had  I  been  at  home,  I  should  have  pitched  into  the 
fight  as  usual.  Since  I  returned  from  Washington,  I 
have  devoted  a  very  large  amount  of  time  to  politics 
of  our  State,  and  feel  confident  we  are  getting  into  a 
satisfactory  position  and  can  carry*  the  State  at  the 
next  election.  I  am  getting  ready  for  just  such  a  fight 
as  we  had  in  1868,  when  you  and  I  ran  the  machine." 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  depended  the  outcome  of  the  election.  Both  Re 
publicans  and  Democrats  claimed  a  majority  in  this 
branch  of  the  Legislature,  and  both  Republican  and 
Democratic  newspapers  published  lists  giving  the  po 
litical  status  of  members  elect.  Several  Labor  Re- 


252  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

formers  had  been  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  some 
of  these  being  of  Republican  antecedents  were  claimed 
by  both  parties.  There  were  two  or  more  instances 
where  there  was  dispute  as  to  the  right  of  members 
elect  to  the  certificate  of  election  held  by  them,  notably 
in  Ward  6,  Concord,  where  Samuel  B.  Page  had  been 
declared  elected.  There  were,  therefore,  complications 
to  keep  the  question  in  doubt  until  the  members  voted. 

Differences  in  the  Republican  ranks  for  the  time 
being  were  laid  aside;  the  leaders  generally  cooper 
ating  in  an  attempt  to  save  the  legislature.  The  burden 
fell  upon  Rollins  as  chairman  of  the  committee  to  mar 
shal  the  Republican  legislative  forces.  He  threw  him 
self  into  this  work,  but  he  found  the  party  leaders 
demoralized  by  the  prospect  of  probable  defeat.  He 
at  once  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Repub 
lican  members  of  the  legislature  and  appealed  to  prom 
inent  Republicans  in  all  parts  of  the  State  to  assist  in 
the  work.  The  following  is  a  letter  addressed  by  him 
to  Republican  members  of  the  legislature. 

"  I  presume  you  agree  with  me  that  it  is  of  vital 
importance  to  secure,  first,  the  organization  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  June  next,  second,  the 
election  of  Republican  State  officers,  and  third,  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  Republican  party  at  the  next 
annual  election.  The  accomplishment  of  the  first  two 
will  render  the  latter  more  certain. 

"  To  this  end  are  you  willing  to  make  extra  effort 
during  the  current  year  to  bring  about  these  desirable 
results?  If  so,  please  make  complete  reply  to  the 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY'S   DEFEAT          253 

circular  of  the  State  committee  at  Concord,  and  report 
to  me  in  detail  all  the  facts  in  your  possession  having 
a  bearing  upon  the  organization  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

"  We  must  take  immediate  steps  to  heal  all  local 
dissensions,  thoroughly  organize,  firmly  unite  the 
party,  and  thus  make  preparation  to  sustain  our 
members  of  the  legislature  and  win  the  battle  in  March 
next." 

This  was  supplemented  by  other  letters  to  members 
of  the  legislature  and  to  prominent  Republicans  of  the 
State  urging  activity  and  vigilance.  Until  the  night 
preceding  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  there  was 
reasonable  assurance  that  the  Republicans  would  or 
ganize  the  House.  Then  weakness  on  the  part  of 
some  Republican  leaders,  together  with  the  illness  of 
two  Republican  Representatives,  gave  the  Democrats 
the  victory.  William  H.  Gove,  of  Weare,  the  can 
didate  for  Speaker  of  both  the  Labor  Reform  and  the 
Democratic  parties,  was  elected  by  two  majority  over 
James  O.  Adams,  the  Republican  candidate. 

It  was  a  memorable  contest,  the  Democrats  taking 
no  chances  of  defeat.  They  numbered  their  ballots  for 
Speaker,  and  on  the  back  of  each  was  the  name  of  the 
Representative  to  vote  it.  In  this  way  each  member's 
vote  could  be  accounted  for.  They  had  reliable  party 
workers  in  charge  of  all  doubtful  men,  who  were  re 
sponsible  for  their  appearance  and  votes.  All  through 
the  session  they  held  their  following  intact  against 
Republican  assault,  though  in  the  early  days  of  the 


254 


LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 


session,  before  they  increased  their  majority  in  the 
House  by  unseating  Republicans  whose  seats  were 
contested,  their  Speaker  had  several  times  to  vote  on 
questions  to  give  them  a  majority. 

The  death  of  one  of  the  Democratic  Senators-elect 
before  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  deprived  them  of 
the  fruits  of  their  triumph.  In  filling  the  vacancy 
they  were  compelled  to  choose  between  his  Republican 
competitor  at  the  polls  and  a  temperance  Republican 
who  received  a  few  votes.  They  elected  Alvah  Smith, 
the  temperance  Republican,  to  this  vacancy.  With 
his  vote  they  had  a  majority  in  a  Senate  of  twelve 
members.  He  voted  with  the  Democrats  in  the  elec 
tion  of  State  officers,  but,  when  it  came  to  carrying  out 
the  Democratic  programme  for  redistricting  the  State 
and  removing  Republican  office-holders,  he  refused  to 
act  with  them,  nor  could  any  persuasion  or  threat 
secure  his  support  of  this  programme.  The  indigna 
tion  of  the  Democrats  knew  no  bounds.  They  accused 
Senator  Smith  of  violating  his  pledges  to  them  and 
threatened  to  oust  him  from  his  seat  in  the  Senate. 
Nothing,  however,  came  of  these  threats.  The  session 
continued  exciting  throughout,  and  gave  the  Republi 
cans  material  for  campaign  purposes  which  they  used 
to  advantage.  At  the  final  adjournment  the  two  parties 
stood  in  battle-array  for  the  next  campaign,  which  was 
opened  immediately. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PAETY  REORGANIZED 

ALTHOUGH  the  Democrats  had  secured  but  little 
material  benefit  from  their  control  of  the  executive 
office  and  one  branch  of  the  legislature,  the  prestige 
of  victory  was  theirs,  and  they  were  buoyed  up  with 
confidence  of  success  in  the  campaign  of  1872.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Republicans  were  more  or  less 
demoralized  by  their  defeat.  They  had  gained  some 
courage  out  of  the  discomfiture  of  their  opponents  in 
failing  to  control  the  legislature,  but  their  dissensions 
and  jealousies  remained.  There  were  plenty  of  leaders 
who  could  give  explanations  of  the  party's  defeat,  but 
few  who  had  heart  to  suggest  how  this  defeat  might 
be  retrieved.  Rollins  was  one  of  the  few  who  had  con 
fidence  that  the  State  could  be  redeemed,  and  he 
began  the  campaign  of  1872  while  the  legislature  of 
1871  was  in  session.  He  was  now  situated  so  that 
he  could  give  time  to  political  affairs,  and  he  immedi 
ately  opened  correspondence  with  Republicans  in  all 
parts  of  the  State  urging  activity  and  organization  of 
the  party  for  the  coming  battle.  While  others  were 
suggesting  candidates  for  governor,  he  gave  his  atten- 

255 


256  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tion  to  the  close  towns,  requesting  immediate  canvasses 
with  lists  of  wavering  and  doubtful  Kepublicans.  The 
treasury  of  the  State  committee  was  empty,  and  a 
committee  of  ten  prominent  Republicans  was  organized 
to  raise  funds  to  carry  on  this  preliminary  canvass. 

Any  one  who  has  had  to  do  with  political  campaigns 
knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  secure  contributions  of 
money  in  advance  of  the  formal  opening  of  the  cam 
paign.  When  the  excitement  of  the  struggle  is  on, 
appeals  for  financial  aid  meet  with  response,  but,  with 
the  contest  months  ahead,  contributions  are  grudgingly 
given  even  by  those  most  interested.  Rolling's  plan  of 
campaign  embraced  the  placing  in  the  hands  of  every 
young  or  wavering  voter  of  the  State  a  Republican 
newspaper,  whose  constant  repetitions  of  the  short 
comings  of  the  Democracy  would  shape  this  voter's 
thought  in  the  right  direction.  He  realized,  as  have 
all  his  successors  in  the  chairmanship,  that  documents, 
speeches,  and  newspapers  flooded  upon  a  voter  a  few 
weeks  or  days  before  election  are  a  waste  of  time  and 
money,  as  most  of  them  are  thrown  aside  and  never 
read.  He  knew  that,  if  converts  are  to  be  made  or  back 
sliders  regained,  it  must  be  by  constant  evidence  of 
the  unfitness  of  the  opposition  to  hold  power.  Yet 
plain  as  this  proposition  is  now  and  was  then,  it  re 
quired  repeated  appeals  to  obtain  even  small  sums  for 
this  purpose. 

From  his  railroad  office  in  Boston,  Rollins  carried 
on  his  political  correspondence,  and,  as  he  himself  fre 
quently  complained,  he  devoted  more  time  to  this  work 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      257 

than  to  his  railroad  business.  Nor  was  he  always 
encouraged  by  the  interest  of  Republicans  in  the  cause. 
!Not  a  few  were  indifferent.  Some  were  disheartened, 
and  here  and  there  cropped  out  jealousy  of  his  manage 
ment  of  the  party.  With  justifiable  impatience  he 
frequently  offered  to  take  his  place  in  the  ranks  to 
allow  the  malcontents  to  pick  out  his  successor  as  chair 
man  of  the  State  committee.  Writing  Bainbridge 
Wadleigh,  of  Milford,  afterward  United  States  Sen 
ator,  about  this  time,  he  said : 

"  I  regret  that  you  were  not  present  at  our  meeting 
last  evening.  I  did  not  receive  any  report  from  you 
in  regard  to  the  articles  of  association.  You  were 
chairman  of  the  committee  to  prepare  them.  Meeting 
adjourned  until  next  Tuesday  at  8  p.  M.,  at  Phenix 
Hotel.  Hope  you  will  make  it  a  point  to  be  present. 

"  I  find  it  necessary  in  order  to  keep  things  mov 
ing  to  devote  about  half  my  time  to  the  politics  of  ~New 
Hampshire.  It  is  considerable  of  a  bore.  Have  you 
found  somebody  to  take  my  place  yet?  Do  you  think 
you  had  better  take  it  ?  You  will  find  it  a  very  pleasant 
position  and  your  services  will  always  be  appreciated, 
particularly  by  the  leading  Republicans,  more  es 
pecially  those  who  do  not  wish  to  do  any  work  them 
selves  and  only  growl  at  those  who  do  labor." 

To  this  letter  Wadleigh  replied:  "Dear  Rollins: 
Yours  of  the  24th  inst.  came  to  hand  last  evening.  I 
received  no  notice  of  the  meeting  on  the  23d,  and  was 
aware  of  none  until  I  learned  of  it  from  your  letter. 
I  shall  try  to  be  present  next  Tuesday,  though  I  have 


258  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

an  engagement  on  that  day  which  may  possibly  pre 
vent  me  from  going  up.  Now,  my  dear  Ned,  I  cannot 
allow  you  to  mistake  my  position  in  reference  to  your 
self.  You  seem  to  credit  me  with  some  hostility  to 
you  which  does  not  exist.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  debt 
of  gratitude  which  we  all  owe  you,  and  no  man  ever 
heard  me  say  one  word  to  depreciate  it.  But  very  evi 
dently  your  services  have  produced  jealousy,  and  I 
think  that  with  your  cooperation  we  can  get  a  little 
more  harmony  with  a  new  figure-head,  and  I  think  —  I 
know  —  that  you  would  be  the  stronger  for  it.  As  for 
my  taking  it,  it  is  out  of  the  question,  even  if  I  were 
wanted,  which  does  not  appear.  It  is  not  with  any 
view  to  my  own  interests  that  I  think  as  I  do,  because 
I  feel  that  I  have  no  better  friend  than  yourself.  I 
am  well  aware  that  in  the  next  contest  we  shall  need 
all  the  strength  we  can  muster,  and,  as  for  myself, 
though  I  have  had  nothing  and  expect  nothing  from 
the  party,  I  am  willing  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  give 
it  victory." 

Answering  this  letter,  Rollins  said :  "  Yours  of  the 
26th  inst.  is  received  and  I  note  your  remarks  with 
reference  to  the  last  meeting.  A  notice  was  sent  you 
by  mail  and  I  regret  that  you  did  not  receive  it.  You 
mistake  me  in  supposing  that  I  regard  you  as  anything 
but  a  sincere  friend.  I  have  always  believed  you  to 
be  such  and  have  no  reason  to  change  my  views.  What 
ever  you  have  said  or  now  think  about  the  '  figure 
head/  I  am  sure  you  were  and  are  prompted  by  the 
best  of  motives  and  look  only  to  the  welfare  of  the 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY    REORGANIZED       259 

party.  Still  I  think  those  gentlemen  who  agree  with 
you  in  regard  to  the  matter  should  present  their  man 
at  once.  Let  us  see  that  he  is  the  proper  man  for  the 
place.  It  is  no  use  to  talk  about  the  change  and  still 
take  no  steps  to  secure  the  services  of  some  proper  man 
to  take  my  place.  I  shall  be  delighted  to  be  relieved 
from  the  burden  and  care  of  the  campaign  and  should 
like  to  have  the  change  made  at  once,  for  a  great  share 
of  the  hard  labor  will  have  to  be  performed  before  the 
meeting  of  the  State  convention,  unless  that  is  held 
very  soon.  Hoping  to  see  you  this  evening,  and  hear 
from  you  as  often  as  convenient,  I  remain,"  etc. 

~No  one  appeared  voluntarily  to  take  up  the  burden 
of  the  chairmanship  of  the  State  committee,  and  no 
one  was  suggested  by  those  who  criticized  Rollins' s  con 
trol  of  the  organization.  With  the  exception  of  these 
outbursts  of  impatience  at  the  indifference  of  the 
leaders  and  the  personal  criticism  of  himself,  Rolling's 
correspondence  indicates  an  optimism  which  finally 
stimulated  the  Republicans  of  the  State  to  make  a 
winning  fight.  With  his  usual  grasp  of  details,  he 
had  the  campaign  fully  mapped  out  and  the  local 
leaders  at  work  before  the  State  convention  was  held. 
After  the  nomination  of  governor,  it  was  only  necessary 
to  push  the  campaign  to  a  successful  issue. 

Another  difficulty  besetting  the  Republicans  was  the 
lack  of  a  party  newspaper  at  the  capital  which  should 
represent  the  whole  party  and  not  a  faction.  George 
G.  Fogg  still  controlled  the  columns  of  the  Independent 
Democrat  and  the  Daily  Monitor.  In  these  journals 


260  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

he  continued  to  criticize  the  management  of  the  party. 
The  sparring  between  him  and  the  editors  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Statesman  delighted  the  enemy  and  dis 
couraged  Republicans.  It  was  necessary  to  success 
that  harmony  should  prevail,  and  Rollins  set  on  foot 
a  movement  to  purchase  both  newspaper  plants  and 
consolidate  them.  Frequent  meetings  were  held  for 
this  purpose,  first  to  secure  the  consent  of  the  propri 
etors  to  sell,  and,  second,  to  secure  subscribers  for  the 
capital  stock  of  the  consolidated  plant.  The  former 
was  no  easy  task.  The  latter  proved  to  be  an  under 
taking  which  called  for  the  utmost  patience  and  per 
sistency.  The  stock  was  to  be  distributed  in  small 
blocks  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  so  that  no  in 
dividual  or  section  would  control  the  management. 
The  purchase  and  consolidation  took  place  in  October, 
1871,  but  the  stock  was  not  fully  subscribed  until  some 
weeks  later.  Probably  no  one  rendered  more  efficient 
service  in  this  work  than  Person  C.  Cheney,  of  Man 
chester. 

Nothing  better  illustrates  Rollins's  subordination  of 
personal  feelings  to  the  good  of  the  cause  than  his 
kindly  reception  of  a  suggestion  that  Fogg  be  made 
editor  of  the  consolidated  newspapers.  On  this  point 
he  wrote  Daniel  Hall :  "  If  Fogg  would  put  on  the 
party  harness  and  work  with  the  spirit  he  manifested 
in  olden  times,  he  would  undoubtedly  be  the  best  man 
we  could  have,  and  I  should  be  in  favor  of  securing 
his  services.  He  has  ability  and  perhaps  could  aid  in 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED       261 

bringing  back  into  the  fold  some  of  the  sheep  who 
have  strayed  away  under  his  leadership." 

Eollins  also  wrote  to  other  leaders  suggesting  that 
the  proposition  was  worthy  of  consideration,  with  the 
result  that  Fogg  became  the  political  editor  of  the  con 
solidated  newspapers,  a  position  he  held  until  the  next 
summer. 

The  Republican  State  committee  met  November  22, 
1871,  to  fix  the  time  for  holding  the  State  and  other 
conventions.  This  meeting  was  largely  attended  by 
its  members  and  by  prominent  men  of  the  party.  Rol 
lins  was  now  able  to  lay  before  them  the  result  of  his 
labors  during  the  summer  and  fall  and  to  show  them 
that  with  united  effort  the  party  could  regain  control 
of  the  State.  In  December,  the  Rev.  James  Pike,  in 
an  open  letter,  declined  to  be  again  a  candidate  for 
governor,  thus  relieving  the  party  of  any  embarrass 
ment  which  might  arise  from  passing  him  over.  The 
party  was  encouraged  by  several  municipal  elections 
which  occurred  this  month.  Dover  and  Portsmouth 
were  carried  by  the  Republicans  with  their  usual  ma 
jorities,  while  Manchester,  which  had  for  three  years 
elected  James  A.  Weston  mayor,  now  chose  Person  C. 
Cheney  his  successor  by  several  hundred  majority. 

The  Republican  State  convention  met  at  Concord, 
January  3,  1872.  Rollins,  as  chairman  of  the  State 
committee,  opened  the  convention  with  a  speech  full 
of  vigor  and  confidence.  He  said: 

"You  have  assembled  as  representatives  of  the  Re 
publican  party  under  very  extraordinary  circum- 


262  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

stances.  We  have  a  Democratic  governor.  Our  action 
to-day  will,  I  am  confident,  be  so  satisfactory  to  our 
party  and  to  the  people  that  Governor  Weston  will  be 
the  last  of  his  tribe.  We  have  beaten  the  enemy  in 
twenty  successive  well-contested  campaigns,  but,  at  the 
last  election,  he  achieved  a  partial  success,  this  not  on 
account  of  any  regard  the  people  have  for  modern 
Democracy,  or  its  conduct  during  the  war,  or  love  for 
copperhead  principles,  but  rather  by  reason  of  local 
troubles,  disaffections,  and  unusual  apathy  in  our  own 
ranks.  We  were  in  fact  beaten  by  ourselves.  One 
experiment  of  this  kind  is  sufficient.  .  .  .  The 
experience  of  the  past  year  has  taught  us  a  lesson 
which  we  shall  not  speedily  forget.  We  know  now 
that  there  must  be  harmony  in  our  ranks,  life  and 
activity  in  our  organizaton,  vigor  and  discretion  in  our 
action,  and  wisdom  in  our  counsels  to  render  success 
certain.  I  have  given  much  attention  to  political 
affairs  since  the  last  election,  and  I  know  that  I  utter 
but  the  truth  when  I  say  that  the  Republicans  have 
determined  in  compact  irresistible  columns  to  move 
upon  the  works  of  the  enemy  and  redeem  the  State. 
We  have  not  forgotten  the  more  than  thirty-nine  thou 
sand  legal  votes  which  we  gave  for  the  Republican 
candidate  in  1868.  We  can,  if  we  so  resolve,  repeat 
that  memorable  campaign." 

Only  one  ballot  for  governor  was  necessary.  Tt  re 
sulted  in  the  nomination  of  Ezekiel  A.  Straw,  of  Man 
chester,  his  principal  opponent  being  Horton  D. 
Walker,  of  Portsmouth.  Straw  was  the  agent  of  the 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY    REORGANIZED       263 

Amoskeag  Corporation,  of  Manchester,  and  a  man  of 
large  executive  ability.  His  selection  was  the  best  that 
could  have  been  made  at  that  time,  both  on  account  of 
locality  and  his  standing  in  the  State. 

The  State  committee  met  immediately  after  the 
convention  for  the  purpose  of  organization.  In  spite 
of  all  his  labors  and  what  he  had  accomplished  in  re 
uniting  the  party,  there  was  decided  opposition  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  leaders  to  Rollins's  continuing  at 
the  head  of  the  committee,  A  United  States  Senator 
would  be  chosen  by  the  legislature  to  be  elected  in 
March.  This  prospective  prize  was  sufficient  to  arouse 
all  the  old  jealousies  of  Eollins's  leadership.  At  the 
committee  meeting,  he  was  accused  by  Mason  W.  Tap- 
pan  of  neglecting  the  party  in  the  previous  campaign. 
To  this  accusation  he  replied  that,  as  the  committee 
had  refused  to  accept  his  resignation  and  forced  the 
position  upon  him,  he  considered  it  unjust.  This 
seemed  to  be  the  view  of  most  of  the  committee,  but 
without  action  an  adjournment  was  taken  for  a 
week. 

This  attack  came  as  a  surprise  to  most  members  of 
the  State  committee.  It  seemed  for  the  time  as  if  all 
of  Rollins's  work  of  reorganizing  the  party  would  go 
for  naught.  If  the  party  was  to  be  torn  by  dissensions 
at  the  very  outset  of  the  campaign,  there  was  little 
prospect  of  success.  If  the  Senatorial  contest  was  to 
be  precipitated  in  advance  of  the  election,  it  was  not 
impossible  that  the  Democratic  party  would  carry  off 
this  prize.  Rollins's  feelings  are  shown  in  letters  to 


264  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

friends  written  between  the  time  of  the  first  and  second 
meeting  of  the  State  committee.  A  sample  of  these 
letters  is  the  following  to  William  B.  Small,  of  New 
market,  the  defeated  candidate  for  Congress  in  the 
first  district  at  the  previous  election :  "  My  dear 
Small:  —  Your  two  letters  of  the  9th  instant  received. 
Many  thanks  for  your  kind  and  encouraging  words. 
Be  assured  that  at  the  first  opportunity  all  your  efforts 
will  be  appreciated  by  me  in  a  manner  that  will  be  quite 
satisfactory  to  you.  I  confess  that  I  was  much  morti 
fied  at  the  attack  made  upon  me  in  view  of  my  earnest 
efforts  since  the  last  election  to  place  the  Republican 
party  in  a  position  to  win  the  victory  in  March.  It  was 
wicked  to  have  such  a  scene  in  the  State  committee 
after  the  magnificent  convention  of  the  day.  I  think 
our  enemies  have  made  a  mistake,  for  I  am  satisfied 
from  information  received  that  the  feeling  of  the  Re 
publicans  is  strongly  in  the  right  direction,  and  will 
manifest  itself  on  Friday  next. 

"  Patterson  and  his  friends  have  been  busy  for  a 
month  trying  to  work  up  this  case,  but  I  was  surprised 
to  see  Tappan,  Stevens,  and  O.  C.  Moore  in  it.  They 
have  made  a  great  mistake  and  it  will  react  upon  them. 
I  understand  that  Patterson's  friends  are  beginning  to 
hedge  by  declaring  that  he  was  never  in  favor  of  the 
change.  The  result  will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  me, 
although  the  ordeal  is  not  a  pleasant  one.  We  can 
hardly  afford  such  scrimmages  in  the  party  at  present. 
I  shall  do  my  best  for  the  cause  under  any  circum 
stances.  ...  I  trust  there  will  be  a  full  meeting,  not 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED       265 

only  of  the  committee  but  of  leading  Republicans. 
I  hope  not  only  to  see  my  friends  but  also  my  enemies, 
if  there  are  any,  for  I  am  sure  they  will  be  satisfied 
when  they  know  all,  unless  their  minds  are  poisoned 
by  ambitious  schemers." 

The  second  meeting  of  the  committee  was  very 
largely  attended.  Rollins  opened  it  by  a  calm  state 
ment  of  his  position.  He  reviewed  his  connection  with 
the  previous  campaign,  explained  his  enforced  absence, 
repeated  the  assurance  he  had  received  from  Prescott 
and  Fogg,  who  were  in  charge  of  the  State  committee, 
that  Republican  success  was  assured,  and  outlined  his 
work  of  reorganizing  the  party.  He  concluded  by  stat 
ing  that  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  reelection,  but,  if 
selected,  he  should  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline.  His 
speech  made  a  strong  impression.  It  was  supplemented 
by  a  brief  statement  from  Mr.  Straw,  the  candidate 
for  governor,  expressing  his  wishes  and  his  desire  for 
harmonious  action.  There  was  no  discussion  and,  a 
ballot  being  taken,  Rollins  received  all  but  a  few  scat 
tering  votes.  His  election  as  chairman  was  then  made 
unanimous. 

Writing  Ordway  immediately  after  the  second  meet 
ing  of  the  committee,  Rollins  said: 

"  I  must  run  the  machine  once  more,  and  then  I 
hope  to  be  quit  of  it.  I  could  not  retire  without  seem 
ing  disgrace.  This  I  cannot  afford.  I  think  the  hos 
tility  exhibited  by  Patterson,  Tappan  and  Co.  has  done 
me  much  good  and  ensured  me  many  friends  whom 
I  otherwise  would  not  have  had.  The  fact  is  the  rank 


266  LIFE    OF    EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  file  of  the  party  are  for  me,  and  they  found  it  out 
before  the  committee  met,  and  accepted  the  situa 
tion." 

The  Manchester  Mirror  in  its  account  of  the  State 
committee  meeting  said :  "  The  meeting  was  such  as 
will  give  the  key-note  to  the  present  campaign.  It 
means  that  the  contest  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans 
is  to  be  one  of  untiring  and  indefatigable  labor.  The 
selection  of  Mr.  Eollins  means  old-fashioned  warfare 
and  an  immediate  movement  on  the  enemy's  works." 

The  Statesman  said :  "  The  abilities  and  success  of 
E.  H.  Rollins  in  his  position  of  chairman  have  become 
historic  in  New  Hampshire  and  need  not  be  descanted 
upon." 

The  skill  with  which  Rollins  managed  campaigns  in 
New  Hampshire  was  known  and  recognized  by  Re 
publican  leaders  all  over  the  country.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  Rollins  received  the  following  message 
from  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  our  minister  to  France, 
in  a  letter  written  to  him  by  Benjamin  Gerrish,  Jr., 
of  Concord,  then  consul  at  Nantes,  France. 

"  When  you  write  Rollins,  give  him  my  kindest 
regards  and  tell  him  that  I  am  glad  he  is  to  run  the 
next  campaign  in  New  Hampshire,  for  that  looks  like 
business.  I  know  what  the  result  will  be  if  he  takes 
hold  in  earnest.  He  is  the  best  party  organizer  that 
New  Hampshire  ever  produced." 

Washburne  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Grant  and 
interested  in  his  reelection  to  the  Presidency.  He  rec 
ognized  the  importance  of  a  Republican  victory  in  New 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      267 

Hampshire  in  March  as  bearing  not  only  upon  the  re- 
nomination  but  the  reelection  of  President  Grant. 

The  campaign  was  an  active  and  vigilant  one.  The 
Democrats  renominated  Governor  Weston,  and  a  small 
gathering  of  Labor  Reformers  nominated  Lemuel  P. 
Cooper,  of  Croydon.  The  Prohibitionists  held  a  con 
vention  and  selected  John  Blackmer  as  their  standard- 
bearer.  The  contest,  however,  was  between  the  two  old 
parties,  the  Labor  Reformers  and  Prohibitionists  cut 
ting  no  figure  in  the  canvass.  Among  the  outside 
speakers  for  the  Republicans  were  Senator  Henry  Wil 
son,  of  Massachusetts,  Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  of  New 
York,  Mary  A.  Livermore,  of  Massachusetts,  and 
James  F.  Wilson,  of  Iowa,  afterward  United  States 
Senator  from  that  State.  Daniel  Voorhees,  of  In 
diana,  then  Congressman,  and  afterward  Senator,  ap 
peared  on  the  stump  for  the  Democrats. 

General  Sickles  not  only  spoke  in  the  campaign,  but 
sent  his  check  for  five  hundred  dollars  to  aid  in  the 
expenses.  Acknowledging  Sickles's  letter,  Rollins  said : 
"  My  dear  General :  —  Yours  of  the  4th  inst.  enclosing 
check  of  five  hundred  dollars  to  aid  the  good  cause  in 
the  State  is  received.  A  thousand  thanks  for  your 
generous  contribution.  It  is  the  first  that  we  have 
received  from  our  friends  outside  of  the  State,  and  I 
assure  you  that  it  will  not  only  do  us  much  good  toward 
getting  home  our  absent  voters,  but  will  encourage  us 
to  make  more  determined  efforts  to  redeem  the  State. 
The  fight  is  to  be  a  desperate  one,  and  we  need  all  the 
assistance  we  can  have.  We  remember  well  how  you 


268  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

turned  the  '  tide  of  battle  '  in  our  campaign  of  1868, 
and  may  find  ourselves  again  in  a  position  where  your 
services  will  be  indispensable.  If  such  should  be  the 
case,  Chandler  intimates  that  you  will  make  two  or 
three  speeches  for  us.  We  are  well  aware  of  the 
changes  that  have  taken  place  and  the  consequent 
different  relations  which  you  hold  to  the  government 
and  the  people,  and  consequently  shall  not  call  upon 
you  unless  the  necessity  seems  obvious.  Please  let  me 
hear  from  you  when  convenient,  and  believe  me  as 
ever,  your  sincere  friend." 

.  Three  weeks  before  the  election,  Rollins  had  pre 
pared  his  canvass  of  the  State.  A  copy  of  this  canvass 
was  given  at  that  time  to  Governor  Jewell,  of  Con 
necticut,  and  to  Mr.  Straw,  the  Republican  candidate 
for  governor.1 

Commenting  upon  this  canvass  after  election,  the 
Boston  Advertiser's  Concord  corespondent  said:  "It 
seems  almost  incredible  that  so  correct  a  canvass  could 
have  been  made,  and  yet  the  result  is  not  any  more 

1  CANVASS 

Straw 38,141 

Weston 36,137 

Blackmer 301 

Cooper 627 

VOTE  CAST 

Straw 38,752 

Weston 36,584 

Blackmer 436 

Cooper  and  scattering 460 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY    REORGANIZED      269 

accurate  than  has  occurred  several  times  before  under 
the  excellent  management  of  E.  H.  Rollins,  chairman 
of  the  State  committee." 

The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Straw  as  gov 
ernor  by  the  people.  The  Republicans  carried  the 
legislature  by  about  sixty  majority.  Speaking  of  this 
campaign,  the  Statesman  said: 

"  The  chairman  of  the  committee,  E.  H.  Rollins, 
was  almost  literally  sleepless  in  his  vigilance,  and  never 
acquitted  himself  more  creditably  in  any  of  his  pre 
vious  campaigns.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  under  any 
other  chairman  than  Mr.  Rollins  our  success  would 
have  been  at  best  doubtful.  In  view  of  his  faithful 
and  efficient  service,  the  Republicans  of  New  Hamp 
shire  and  of  the  whole  country  owe  Mr.  Rollins  the 
heartiest  thanks." 

This  campaign  in  New  Hampshire  enlisted  more 
than  ever  the  attention  of  the  country.  It  was  to  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  Republican  national 
convention  which  would  assemble  a  few  weeks  after  the 
result  was  known.  The  Liberal  Republican  movement 
was  on  foot  to  defeat  the  renomination  of  President 
Grant  by  the  menace  of  a  threatened  bolt.  The  Repub 
licans  of  New  Hampshire  had  endorsed  President 
Grant's  administration  in  their  convention.  Rollins, 
representing  the  Grant  sentiment,  which  was  strong  in 
the  State,  was  especially  anxious  to  make  the  victory 
so  emphatic  that  there  would  be  no  question  of  his  re- 
nomination.  Tappan,  Fogg,  and  even  Senator  Patter 
son  were  suspected  of  hostility  to  Grant.  If  only  a 


270  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

partial  triumph  were  secured  at  the  New  Hampshire 
election,  the  opponents  of  Grant  all  over  the  country 
would  hail  it  as  an  indication  that  he  could  not  be 
elected  if  nominated,  and  that  his  selection  would  re 
sult  in  national  defeat  for  the  party.  The  anti-Grant 
sentiment  in  New  Hampshire  was  not  outspoken,  but 
anything  short  of  a  complete  victory  in  the  March 
election  would  bring  it  into  the  open.  How  much  of 
this  sentiment  lurked  in  the  Republican  ranks  of  the 
State  became  apparent  after  the  national  conventions 
were  held.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  result 
in  New  Hampshire  settled  the  renomination  of  Pres 
ident  Grant.  The  Washington  Star  commenting  upon 
the  New  Hampshire  election,  expressed  the  feeling  of 
Grant's  supporters  everywhere  when  it  said : 

"  The  first  gun  of  the  campaign  is  very  emphatically 
for  Grant,  and  the  Republicans  gained  all  they  lost  last 
year.  As  we  said  yesterday,  the  issue  in  this  State 
was  purely  a  national  one  between  the  friends  of  the 
administration  and  its  enemies,  and,  this  being  the 
case,  the  result  must  be  accepted  as  an  indication  that 
the  so-called  Liberal  Republican  movement  has  not 
seriously  weakened  the  Republican  party  of  New  Eng 
land."  " 

The  Senatorial  canvass,  which  began  immediately 
after  election,  became  intense  and  even  bitter  toward 
its  close.  Rollins  was  the  most  prominent  contestant 
for  Patterson's  seat,  and  around  these  two  the  battle 
raged  with  no  small  amount  of  personal  feling.  Gov 
ernor  Onslow  Stearns,  Mason  W.  Tappan,  and  Gilman 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      271 

Marston  were  later  brought  into  the  contest,  and  it 
early  became  the  field  against  Patterson.  Rollins  was 
not  adverse  to  the  candidacies  of  these  three,  believ 
ing  that  they  would  draw  from  Patterson  where  he 
could  not,  and  that  with  Patterson's  defeat  their 
friends  would  come  to  him. 

Stearns's  two  terms  as  governor  had  been  creditable 
to  himself  and  the  party.  He  was  recognized  as  a  suc 
cessful  business  man.  Of  forceful  character,  he  showed 
himself  popular  with  the  people  of  the  State.  He  was 
president  of  one  of  the  New  Hampshire  railroads. 
His  recognized  executive  ability  gave  him  a  consider 
able  following. 

The  familiar  cry  of  "  rotation  "  was  taken  up,  and 
the  feeling  of  many  Republicans  of  the  State  was  ex 
pressed  by  Marston  in  a  letter  to  Rollins  dated  May 
24,  1872,  in  which  he  said: 

"  The  reelection  of  Or  agin  was  a  mistake  which  all 
men  now  see  and  acknowledge.  It  did  not  strengthen 
the  party  or  add  a  ray  of  glory  to  our  State.  It  helped 
nobody  but  himself  and  Ruel  (Durkee).  The  mistake 
cannot  now  be  rectified  and  it  will  not  be  repeated.  .  .  . 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  if  I  could  have  seen  you 
frequently  and  you  would  have  taken  kindly  some  sug 
gestions  —  and  I  am  sure  you  would  —  rotation  could 
have  been  made  certain.  From  my  point  of  view  Mr. 
Patterson  seems  strong,  not  so  strong  as  he  was,  but 
still  formidable.  He  has  not  a  majority,  but  you  know 
how  difficult  it  is  to  unite  the  friends  of  several  can 
didates  upon  any  one." 


272  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

This  last  suggestion  of  Marston  was  true.  Rollins, 
Stearns,  Tappan,  and  Marston  were  agreed  that  Patter 
son  ought  not  to  be  reflected,  but  none  of  them  reached 
the  point  where  he  was  ready  to  throw  his  support  to 
any  of  the  others.  As  the  contest  grew  in  intensity, 
it  appeared  to  the  unprejudiced  that,  while  Rollins's 
candidacy  might  defeat  Patterson,  it  would  not  elect 
himself.  As  the  session  of  the  legislature  approached, 
a  deadlock  of  the  leaders  in  the  caucus  seemed  probable. 
Other  candidates  now  awakened  to  the  possibilities  of 
the  canvass. 

.  In  addition  to  the  argument  of  rotation,  Patterson 
had  to  meet  the  suspicion  that  he  was  not  in  full  accord 
with  Grant's  administration,  as  well  as  open  attacks 
that  he  was  connected  with  the  Washington  city  ring 
then  in  power  with  "  Boss "  Alexander  R.  Shepard 
at  its  head.  He  was  attacked  in  the  Democratic  news 
papers,  and,  in  the  closing  days  of  the  canvass,  two 
negroes  from  Washington  appeared  at  Concord,  where 
in  public  speeches  they  accused  him  of  disloyalty  to 
their  race.  The  Credit  Mobilier  scandal  had  not  then 
come  to  the  front,  and  was  only  hinted  at  during  the 
canvass.  Rollins  was  accused  of  inspiring  the  attacks 
upon  Patterson,  a,  charge  he  denied.  As  many  of  the 
statements  which  were  made  about  Patterson's  public 
career  were  supposed  to  be  within  the  knowledge  of 
Rollins,  it  was  easy  to  accuse  him  of  giving  them  cur 
rency,  and  difficult  for  him  to  persuade  the  public  that 
he  had  not  done  so.  Then  Rollins's  association  with 
Ordway,  who  openly  attacked  Patterson  while  cham- 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      273 

pioning  Rollins' s  election,  seemed  to  confirm  that 
belief. 

Chandler,  who  was  kept  busy  by  his  duties  as  sec 
retary  of  the  national  convention  which  met  in  June, 
was  not  on  the  ground,  but  he  kept  in  touch  with  what 
was  going  on.  Three  weeks  before  the  legislature  met, 
he  wrote  Rollins  as  follows : 

"  I  am  satisfied  that,  if  at-  the  first  caucus  of  the 
session  a  resolution  is  put  through  declaring  in  favor 
of  rotation  on  the  Senatorial  question,  all  friends  of 
new  candidates  rallying  their  forces  and  carrying  it 
through,  there  will  be  some  chance  of  a  new  man  get 
ting  in.  Otherwise  you  will  have  so  much  difference 
of  opinion  when  you  come  to  ballot,  Patterson  will  be 
elected." 

What  Chandler  feared  came  near  happening,  but 
Patterson  could  not  gain  the  necessary  seven  votes 
to  give  him  a  majority  of  the  full  caucus.  The  second 
ballot  in  the  caucus  gave  him  one  additional  vote,  which 
he  held  on  the  third.  Then  the  tide  turned.  Rollins 
was  sanguine  to  the  last,  and  to  the  day  of  the  caucus 
apparently  had  greater  strength  than  he  developed  at 
that  gathering.  The  Manchester  Mirror's  report  of 
the  caucus  gives  this  view  of  the  case  and  the  cause  of 
Rollins's  loss  of  strength.  After  saying  that  "  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  "  of  the  caucus,  "  appearances 
indicated  that  Patterson  and  Rollins  were  pretty 
evenly  balanced,"  the  report  continues :  "  Later  in  the 
day  the  current  set  against  Rollins  and  in  favor  of 
Patterson  in  consequence  of  new  energy  on  the  part 


274  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

of  Patterson's  friends  and  the  charge  that  Kollins  had 
brought  Ordway  to  his  aid  and  imported  colored  men 
from  Washington  to  declaim  against  Patterson.  There 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Eollins  was  guilty  of  the 
charge,  but  Ordway  and  the  colored  men  were  present 
and  opposed  Patterson,  and  this  gave  color  to  the 
accusation." 

The  caucus  met  amid  intense  excitement,  but  pro 
ceeded  immediately  to  ballot.  Patterson  lacked  eight 
of  a  majority  on  the  first  vote.  Eollins  polled  nearly  a 
third  of  the  caucus.  Stearns's  vote  added  to  Kollins's 
would  have  placed  the  latter  within  ten  votes  of  Pat 
terson.  On  the  first  ballot  Bainbridge  Wadleigh  had 
three  votes.  Patterson  held  his  forces  well  in  hand  for 
three  ballots.  Then  a  break  came  and  Wadleigh  was 
nominated  on  the  fifth  ballot.1 

The  election  of  Wadleigh  came  as  a  complete  sur 
prise  to  the  State.  He  had  not  expected  the  nomina 
tion,  although  he  knew  he  would  be  voted  for  in  the 

1  THE    BALLOTS 

First  Second  Third  Fourth  Fifth 

James  W.  Patterson  102  103  103  98  36 

Edward  H.  Rollins  67  69  39  16  1 

Onslow  Stearns  25  26  31  39 

Mason  W.  Tappan  12  16  19  18  9 

Oilman  Marston  96766 

Bainbridge  Wadleigh  3  8  18  39  162 

Aaron  F.  Stevens  1 

Samuel  M.  Wheeler  2  3 

Walter  Harriman  2  4 

Asa  Fowler  1  3 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED       275 

caucus.  He  was  a  member  of  this  legislature,  as  lie 
had  been  of  the  preceding,  where  he  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  Republicans  of  the  State  by  his  leader 
ship  when  his  party  was  in  the  minority.  He  was 
popular  with  the  members,  of  whom  probably  one-half 
had  been  members  of  the  previous  annual  session.  If 
a  compromise  candidate  was  to  be  selected,  he  of  all 
others  was  the  easiest  to  unite  upon.  He  readily  made 
friends,  was  a  pleasing  speaker  and  skilful  in  debate. 
He  had  avoided  in  politics  all  those  contests  which 
create  antagonisms.  His  career  in  the  Senate  brought 
him  into  prominence,  and  he  was  recognized  by  his 
colleagues  in  that  body  as  a  man  of  ability  and 
strength.  Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts, 
in  his  autobiography,  commends  both  Wadleigh's 
ability  and  integrity,  and  condemns  the  practice  of 
New  Hampshire  of  frequently  changing  her  representa 
tion  in  the  Senate.  Wadleigh  was  grievously  disap 
pointed  at  his  defeat  for  reelection,  and  an  independ 
ence  of  party  which  he  had  shown  in  the  Senate  led, 
in  1882,  to  his  bolting  the  Republican  nominee  for 
governor  and  casting  his  lot  with  the  Democratic  party. 
After  his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  he  removed  to 
Boston,  where  he  practised  his  profession  until  his 
death. 

Senator  Patterson's  defeat  was  not  regarded  by  him 
self  or  his  friends  as  his  retirement  from  politics.  He 
had  many  admirers  in  the  State.  He  had  occupied 
a  professor's  chair  at  Dartmouth  College  at  the  time 
of  his  first  election  to  Congress.  In  that  body  he  had 


276  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

attained  distinction.  As  a  scholar  he  had  high  rank 
among  public  men,  and  as  an  orator  he  was  without  a 
rival  in  New  Hampshire  and  with  but  few  peers  in 
the  United  States.  In  the  Senate  his  eloquent  speeches 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  country,  and  the 
metropolitan  press  of  Boston,  New  York,  and  Wash 
ington  with  hardly  an  exception  were  earnest  advo 
cates  of  his  reelection.  The  Credit  Mobilier  exposure 
involving  so  many  public  men  followed  soon  after  his 
defeat,  and  from  the  effect  of  this  he  never  recovered. 
He  was  later  made  superintendent  of  public  instruc 
tion  of  the  State,  a  position  he  held  until  his  death.  In 
1883  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  Senate,  but  his 
support  did  not  extend  beyond  a  few  devoted  admirers. 
The  Dover  Enquirer,  which  had  supported  Mr.  Rol- 
lins's  candidacy  for  the  Senatorship,  had  this  to  say 
after  election :  "  E.  H.  Rollins  made  a  good  fight  for 
the  Senatorship,  receiving  sixty-seven  votes  on  the  first 
ballot  or  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  number.  It  is 
said  this  would  have  been  sensibly  larger  but  for  the 
jealousies  of  some  rotationists  and  the  last  effective  ar 
guments  of  their  opponents,  resulting  in  surprising 
violations  of  good  faith.  Mr.  Rollins,  in  fact,  had  on 
hand  not  only  the  biggest  kind  of  a  contest  with  Mr. 
Patterson  but  several  little  side  encounters  with  various 
other  gentlemen  who  were  only  too  willing  to  relieve 
Mr.  Patterson,  provided  they  did  not  aid  Mr.  Rollins. 
The  result  is  highly  creditable  to  the  latter' s  personal 
influence  and  popularity.  He  comes  out  of  the  whole 
with  warmer  friends  and  greater  strength  than  ever. 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      277 

His  efforts  for  the  Republican  cause  may  fail  of  recog 
nition,  but  they  will  never  make  him  false  to  principle. 
The  Republican  party  needs  just  such  men  and  we  be 
lieve,  if  it  is  to  endure  many  years,  it  can  only  be  by 
appreciating  and  sustaining  them." 

The  Senatorial  caucus  had  taken  place  before  it  was 
known  what  effect  the  nomination  of  Horace  Greeley 
by  the  Liberal  Republicans  would  have  upon  either  the 
Democratic  or  the  Republican  parties.  Rollins's  de 
feat  was  a  disappointment  to  many  of  the  working 
Republicans  of  the  State.  The  Democratic  news 
papers  were  inclined  to  regard  it  as  likely  to  produce 
a  wider  breach  in  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hamp 
shire.  They  were,  therefore,  disposed  to  sympathize 
with  Rollins  and  to  give  prominence  to  his  labors  in 
behalf  of  the  party.  The  Concord  People,  which  was 
becoming  more  and  more  to  be  recognized  as  the  Dem 
ocratic  organ  at  the  capital,  thus  refers  to  the  Republi 
can  Senatorial  caucus. 

"  Mr.  Rollins,  in  our  view  of  the  late  Senatorial  con 
test,  and  it  is  one  of  impartial  observation,  cannot  look 
upon  the  mode  and  means  of  his  defeat  with  much 
satisfaction.  Every  man  in  this  State  knows  that  he 
has  been  the  efficient  and  successful  manager  of  the 
political  campaigns  of  his  party  for  years.  To  him 
more  than  any  other  man  the  Republican  party  of  this 
State  owes  its  success  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  As  a 
compensation  for  signal  services  he  has  rendered  to  his 
party,  he  asked  the  favor  of  an  election  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States.  But  the  very  services  which  he 


278  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

has  rendered  to  his  party  have  been  the  cause  of  his 
defeat.  His  efficient  generalship  of  the  Republican 
affairs  has  made  him  personal  enemies  and  aroused 
the  jealousies  of  rivals.  To  those  mean  sentiments  and 
motives  he  has  been  sacrificed." 

If  by  sympathizing  with  his  defeat  the  Democrats 
had  an  idea  that  they  would  unsettle  Rollins' s  loyalty 
to  his  party,  they  were  soon  to  find  out  their  mistake. 

Rollins's  identification  with  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  as  its  secretary  and  treasurer  did  not  help  his 
candidacy.  The  newspapers  were  already  giving  cur 
rency  to  suspicions  that  the  road  was  not  properly  man 
aged  and  they  were  leading  up  to  the  Congressional 
investigation  which  took  place  some  months  later.  The 
Credit  Mobilier  of  Annerica,  an  organization  within 
the  Union  Pacific  directory  for  absorbing  the  profits 
of  building  the  road,  was  known  to  exist,  though  the 
extent  of  its  operation  had  not  been  exposed.  Enough, 
however,  appeared  in  the  press  regarding  this  company 
to  raise  the  question  of  the  propriety  of  electing  an 
officer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  to  the  Senate. 
The  opponents  of  Rollins  used  this  against  him.  He, 
however,  was  never  a  stockholder  either  in  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  or  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company.  If 
his  attitude  toward  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company  had 
been  known,  it  is  not  impossible  that  his  connection 
as  an  officer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  would  have 
helped  rather  than  injured  his  canvass.  The  following 
memorandum  found  among  his  papers,  which  is  con 
firmed  by  Henry  McFarland,  of  Concord,  then  his 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY   REORGANIZED      279 

assistant  in  the  treasury  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  and  afterwards  his  successor  in  that  office,  shows 
that,  if  his  advice  had  been  followed,  this  great  scandal 
would  have  been  avoided.  Mr.  McFarland  was  present 
when  the  protest  was  made  by  Rollins  against  the  use 
of  a  certain  note  by  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company. 


"  MEMORANDUM 


"  Mr.  Rollins  has  always  said  that  the  note  purport 
ing  to  be  that  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
to  the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,  for  two  million 
dollars,  was  given  without  the  authority  of  the  corpora 
tion,  and  without  consideration ;  that  it  was  made  and 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  trustee  to  be  held  merely  as 
a  sort  of  indemnity  to  protect  the  signers  of  a  certain 
bond,  which  bond  was  given  to  a  Pennsylvania  court, 
to  secure  the  payment  of  such  sum  as  the  court  might 
find  to  be  due  in  a  suit  for  income  tax  brought  in 
said  court;  and  that  when  (after  all  possibility  of 
liability  on  said  bond  had  been  escaped,  the  bond  it 
self  having  been  surrendered  and  cancelled)  the  said 
note  was  finally  delivered  to  the  agents  of  the  Credit 
Mobilier  in  his  presence,  he,  as  representing  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  made  a  most  emphatic  and 
vigorous  verbal  protest  against  such  delivery." 

Rollins's  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
led  to  the  charges  that  this  road  helped  the  Republi 
cans  with  contributions  of  money.  This  was  believed 


280  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

not  only  by  Democrats  but  even  by  some  Republicans. 
One  prominent  Republican  of  Concord  thought  he  had 
proof  positive  of  this  in  the  campaign  of  1872,  and 
perhaps  he  still  believes  the  evidence  of  his  eyesight. 
Rollins,  as  treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
had  many  checks  to  sign  in  payment  of  the  bills  of 
that  corporation.  Henry  McFarland,  of  Concord,  was 
his  confidential  clerk  at  that  time.  Rollins  was  at  the 
Republican  headquarters  during  the  campaign.  It 
was,  therefore,  the  practice  of  McFarland  to  prepare 
the  company's  checks  and  send  the  check-book  to  Con 
cord  for  Rollins's  signatures  thereto.  One  day  Rollins 
was  busy  at  headquarters  signing  these  checks  when 
this  Republican  happened  in.  His  eyes  lighted  upon 
the  check-book  bearing  the  imprint  of  the  Union  Pa 
cific  Railroad.  He  smiled  significantly  to  himself,  but 
asked  no  questions.  After  some  general  conversation 
he  left.  That  evening  he  confidentially  told  a  friend 
that  the  campaign  was  all  right  and  the  Republicans 
would  win,  for  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  had  given 
Rollins  carte  blanche  to  draw  on  the  company's  treas 
ury  for  funds,  and  he  had  seen  Rollins  signing  the 
checks. 

That  Rollins  was  disappointed  at  the  outcome  of  the 
Senatorial  caucus  is  not  to  be  denied.  His  service 
in  Congress  at  a  critical  time  in  the  history  of  the  party 
and  the  country  had  been  most  creditable  to  himself, 
and  his  work  in  the  Republican  organization  in  win 
ning  victories  justified  him  in  feeling  that  his  elevation 
to  the  Senate  would  be  a  proper  recognition  of  that 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY    REORGANIZED      281 

service  and  work.  In  writing  immediately  after  his 
defeat,  he  said  to  his  friend,  C.  W.  Rand,  of  Little 
ton: 

"  A  partial  victory  was  achieved  in  the  establish 
ment  of  the  doctrine  of  rotation.  Wadleigh  is  a  man 
of  undoubted  ability  and  a  good  fellow.  His  election, 
I  think,  is  generally  satisfactory,  although  it  seems  to 
many  working  men  of  the  party  as  somewhat  unjust. 
I  am  bound,  however,  to  accept  the  result  in  a  proper 
spirit,  for  I  feel  that,  if  a  mistake  has  been  made,  it 
is  not  my  fault.  I  have  done  my  duty  faithfully  for 
seventeen  years  in  the  party  and  have  no  apologies  to 
make.  On  the  contrary,  I  feel  proud  of  my  Republi 
can  record.  It  may  be  that  I  am  altogether  mistaken 
in  my  view,  but  I  honestly  think  that  the  men  who  do 
the  work  in  the  party  should  receive  better  treatment 
than  is  often  given  to  them." 

This  letter  bears  the  date  of  June  25,  1872.  In 
this  same  spirit  he  wrote  to  other  friends.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  he  had  at  this  time  a  disposition  to 
withdraw  from  political  life,  for,  in  writing  under 
date  of  July  23d,  to  Samuel  Upton,  of  Manchester, 
who  had  been  his  supporter,  he  says: 

"  I  hardly  know  yet  what  I  can  do  in  connection 
with  the  coming  campaign.  I  have  taken  upon  myself 
additional  duties  in  railroad  matters,  and  it  may  be 
impossible  for  me  to  devote  very  much  time  to  the 
work.  I  suppose  we  shall  have  a  meeting  of  the  com 
mittee  very  soon,  and  I  hope  by  that  time  to  have  ad 
ditional  light  upon  the  subject.  With  proper  effort, 


282  LIFE   OF   EDWAKD    H.    ROLLINS 

I  think  we  can  carry  our  State,  but  there  is  some 
work  to  be  done." 

Yet  three  days  later,  his  interest  is  quickened,  if 
it  ever  flagged  for  a  moment,  for  he  writes  as  follows 
to  William  E.  Chandler,  who  was  then  secretary  of 
the  national  committee,  concerning  the  coming  Presi 
dential  election : 

"  I  hope  you  have  made  sure  of  North  Carolina. 
If  you  have  not,  the  prospects  are  very  dubious. 
Things  are  not  very  prosperous  in  New  Hampshire. 
There  are  a  good  many  men  who  are  talking  Greeley, 
but  the  right  turn  of  affairs  in  North  Carolina  would 
save  them.  When  you  have  taken  care  of  North  Caro 
lina,  then  concentrate  all  your  energies  on  Maine  and 
give  us  a  big  majority  there." 

In  a  letter  to  John  Kimball,  of  Concord,  written 
while  the  Senatorial  campaign  was  pending,  Rollins 
had  said :  "I  probably  shall  not  trouble  my  friends 
much  more  politically,  as  I  shall  not  again  be  a  can 
didate  for  office,  and  I  hope  a  hearty  effort  will  be  made 
for  me,  especially  by  my  neighbors  in  Concord,  at  this 
time." 

This  thought  of  retiring  from  political  activity  in 
case  of  defeat  was  strengthened  by  the  additional 
duties  imposed  upon  him  as  treasurer  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Eailroad.  He  felt  that  he  could  now  resign 
the  chairmanship  of  the  State  committee  with  credit 
to  himself  and  without  detriment  to  the  party.  Under 
his  leadership  the  Republicans  had  won  a  signal  victory 
and  were  again  in  full  control  of  the  State.  The  State 


THE  REPUBLICAN    PARTY    REORGANIZED      283 

had  been  lost  in  1871  because  of  his  enforced  absence. 
It  had  been  redeemed  in  1872  under  his  direction  of 
the  political  forces.  If  his  leadership  had  provoked  the 
jealousies  and  enmities  of  other  prominent  Republi 
cans,  he  would  now  eliminate  them  by  his  retirement. 
It  is  quite  certain  that  he  thought  that  his  political 
aspirations  were  at  an  end,  and  that  his  efforts  here 
after  would  be  directed  mainly  to  a  business  career, 
for  which  he  had  both  the  taste  and  the  talent.  He 
took  his  defeat  for  the  Senatorship  philosophically  and 
without  personal  animosity  toward  any  one.  Three 
times  he  had  tried  for  the  Senatorial  nomination  and 
failed.  Now  four  years  would  elapse  before  another 
Senatorial  vacancy  would  naturally  occur. 
•  None  knew  better  than  Rollins  how  likely  new  issues 
are  to  bring  new  men  into  prominence.  He  would, 
therefore,  remove  himself  from  a  position  which  for 
years  had  brought  him  constant  labor  even  to  the  ex 
clusion  of  his  personal  affairs,  and,  if  his  services  were 
needed,  give  such  time  as  he  could  to  politics  and  take 
such  recognition  as  naturally  came  to  him. 


CHAPTEK    XVI. 

RESIGNS    AS    CHAIRMAN    OP    THE    STATE    COMMITTEE 

HAVING  reached  the  conclusion  to  resign  as  chair 
man  of  the  State  committee,  Rollins  called  the  commit 
tee  together  August  7,  1872,  that  his  resignation  might 
be  acted  upon  and  early  opportunity  given  for  the 
choice  of  his  successor  and  the  organization  of  the 
party  for  the  approaching  campaign.  At  this  meeting 
Rollins,  addressing  the  committee,  said: 

"  On  account  of  pressing  business  duties  which  have 
arisen  since  my  election  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
in  January  last,  and  which  I  could  not  have  foreseen 
upon  the  acceptance  of  the  position,  but  which  will 
prevent  me  from  giving  that  time  and  attention  to  the 
work  of  the  Presidential  campaign  which  its  import 
ance  demands,  I  am  compelled  to  ask  you  to  accept  my 
resignation,  so  often  tendered,  as  your  chairman. 

"  While  doing  this  I  am  happy  to  congratulate  the 
committee  upon  the  union  and  harmony  which  prevail 
in  the  Republican  party  throughout  the  State.  Our 
overwhelming  victory  in  March  last,  and  the  united 
front  which  we  now  present  to  the  enemy,  whom  we 
have  fought  and  defeated  in  twenty  campaigns,  render 
certain  a  complete  triumph  in  November  over  the 

284 


RESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  285 

mongrel  force  marshalled  under  the  leadership  of 
Greeley  and  Brown,  and  the  emphatic  endorsement  by 
the  Granite  State  of  President  Grant  and  that  self- 
made  son  of  New  Hampshire,  Henry  Wilson. 

"  To  such  a  consummation  I  shall,  in  common  with 
you  as  my  associate  members  of  the  committee,  look 
forward  with  profound  satisfaction,  believing  it  to  be 
the  only  result  which  can  assure  peace  and  prosperity 
to  the  country." 

His  resignation  was  accepted,  and  Orrin  C.  Moore, 
of  Nashua,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  Man 
chester  Mirror  in  its  account  of  the  meeting  says: 
"  Mr.  Rollins  had  no  sooner  resumed  his  seat  than 
member  after  member  arose  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
impartial,  faithful,  and  efficient  manner  in  which  he 
had  discharged  his  various  duties  as  chairman  of  the 
committee.  His  reward  is  the  confidence  of  the  party, 
and  the  evidence  of  his  noble  work  is  the  record  of  the 
brilliant  victories  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
year,  illumine  our  political  history  from  1855  to  the 
present  time.  Mr.  Rollins's  resignation  was  then  ac 
cepted,  and  resolutions  embodying  the  above  were  pre 
sented  by  Austin  F.  Pike,  and  unanimously  adopted.'' 

The  Statesman  said :  "  E.  H.  Rollins,  renewing  his 
pledge  of  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  party,  said 
that  his  business  relations  would  not  permit  him  to  at 
tend  to  the  duties  of  the  chairmanship  during  the  cam 
paign,  for  which  reason  alone  he  tendered  his  resigna 
tion.  The  expressions  of  admiration  and  thankfulness 
for  the  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Rollins  in  this  difficult 


286  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

position  were  so  spontaneous,  so  profuse,  and  so  hearty 
that  any  man  might  justly  be  proud  of  them.  All  the 
more  may  Mr.  Rollins  be  proud  because  the  tangible 
results  of  his  work  show  so  plainly  that  the  praise 
bestowed  upon  it  is  richly  deserved." 

The  Democratic  People,  commenting  upon  Rollins's 
resignation,  said :  "  We  know  nothing  of  what  Mr. 
Rollins's  purposes  are,  and  do  not  in  any  way  desire  to 
misrepresent  him,  but  we  do  know  that  as  an  organizer 
and  manager  of  a  campaign  his  equal  cannot  be  found. 
To  him  the  party  is  indebted  for  whatever  victories 
it  has  won  in  the  last  ten  years." 

Rollins's  apparent  optimism  on  the  political  situa 
tion  was  not  shared  by  Republicans  generally.  There 
was  a  feeling  of  doubt  as  to  the  result  of  the  Presiden 
tial  election.  The  Statesman  of  August  8th,  the  day 
after  Rollins  resigned  as  chairman,  in  an  editorial  on 
"  What  of  ISTew  Hampshire,"  said : 

"  Whenever  and  wherever  one  meets  a  Republican 
or  a  Democrat  from  any  State,  almost  the  first  question 
is :  '  Well,  what  of  New  Hampshire  ;  is  she  for  Grant 
or  for  Greeley  ? '  And  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the 
answer  is  not  uniformly  in  one  direction.  The  friends 
of  Greeley  claim  the  State  very  confidently,  and  the 
friends  of  General  Grant  do  not  all  and  always  claim 
it  with  the  same  confidence.  There  is  no  use  in  disguis 
ing  or  denying  the  fact  which  must  be  patent  to  nearly 
everybody  that  there  is  thus  far  on  the  part  of  many 
Republicans  a  lack  of  enthusiasm  for  General  Grant 
which  accounts  for  the  confidence  of  his  opponents  and 


RESIGNS    AS    CHAIRMAN  287 

the  doubts  of  his  friends.  As  little  use  is  there  in 
denying  that  there  are  in  every  county  of  the  State,  and 
perhaps  in  a  majority  of  the  towns,  a  few  Republicans 
who  incline  to  vote  for  Greeley  and  would  be  greatly 
in  danger  of  doing  so  were  the  voting  to  be  done  at  this 
time." 

This  view  was  soon  brought  home  to  Rollins  in  let 
ters  from  active  Republicans  of  the  State  telling  of 
defections  which  became  more  pronounced  because  of 
his  resignation  of  the  chairmanship  of  the  committee. 
Among  Rollins's  admirers  at  that  time  was  Charles  B. 
Gafney,  of  Rochester.  He  was  a  young  lawyer  of  in 
fluence  in  that  section  of  the  State,  a  sagacious  politi 
cian,  and  untiring  wrorker.  He  had  a  charming  per 
sonality,  which,  united  to  a  ready  wit,  made  him  many 
friends.  He  continued  until  his  death  a  potential 
force  in  'New  Hampshire  politics.  He  was  disap 
pointed  at  Rollins's  defeat  for  Senator  both  on  account 
of  his  personal  attachment  to  him  and  because  the 
choice  for  Senator  gave  no  recognition  of  those  whose 
work  had  kept  the  State  Republican.  He  was  not 
present  at  the  State  committee  meeting.  Rollins,  how 
ever,  wrote  him  immediately  after,  to  which  letter  he 
replied  under  date  of  August  12th,  as  follows: 

"  MY  DEAR  ROLLINS  :  —  Your  letter  of  this  morning 
is  at  hand  and  contents  noted.  You  have  finally  con 
cluded  to  do  something  for  yourself  and  I  am  pleased. 
Hall  [Daniel]  missed  the  train  on  the  evening  of  your 
meeting.  We  have  sacrificed  good  men  enough  in  our 


288  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

political  warfare  of  the  past  few  years,  and  under  the 
present  generalship  I  propose  to  bushwhack  for 
Greeley.  Last  year  we  carried  this  town  and  several 
others  for  the  Republican  party  by  your  aid,  and  this 
campaign  they  must  go  the  other  way.  North  Carolina 
has  spoken  and  her  words  can  give  no  consolation  to 
the  followers  of  Grant.  You  have  been  a  devoted  Re 
publican  for  years  and  we  have  all  been  proud  of  you 
as  a  leader.  ...  If  Dan  [Hall]  had  been  running  the 
campaign,  out  of  respect  and  regard  for  the  chairman, 
many  of  us  would  have  remained,  but  now  our  way 
is  clear.  Shall  call  on  you  when  in  Boston,  and  you 
can  say  to  friend  Moore  [Orrin  C.]  that  I  will  show 
him  Greeley  men  in  the  Republican  ranks  of  this  dis 
trict  sufficient  to  carry  the  State  Democratic." 

The  tenor  of  this  letter  was  a  surprise  to  Rollins 
because  it  gave  a  different  impression  of  his  resigna 
tion  than  he  intended.  He  found  that  he  must  by  per 
sonal  work  with  his  friends  correct  this  misunderstand 
ing.  He  immediately  wrote  to  Gafney  urging  him  to 
take  no  step  until  he  saw  him.  In  subsequent  cor 
respondence  and  by  personal  appeals,  he  implored  him 
to  stand  by  the  party.  His  efforts  were  successful  and 
Gafney  not  only  did  not  come  out  for  Greeley,  but  pre 
vented  not  a  few  of  his  friends  from  so  doing. 

Soon  after  a  report  appeared  in  the  New  York 
Tribune  that  Rollins  had  declared  for  Greeley.  This 
was  immediately  corrected  by  him,  and  from  this  time 
forward  he  was  at  work  with  his  old-time  vigor  to  make 


RESIGNS   AS   CHAIRMAN  289 

New  Hampshire  sure  for  Grant.  He  was  in  active 
cooperation  with  the  new  chairman,  Orrin  C.  Moore, 
as  the  following  letter  shows: 

"  MY  DEAR  ROLLINS  :  —  Was  pleased  to  hear  from 
you,  though  I  have  written  Elaine  about  speakers,  in 
cluding  himself.  Have  also  written  Dawes  and  Conk- 
ling.  We  have  sent  out  blanks  for  a  thorough  organiza 
tion,  and  also  to  obtain  names  of  leading  Republicans 
and  anti-Greeley  Democrats.  When  we  get  these,  we 
shall  dose  them  with  doses  specially  prepared  for  them. 
The  meeting  must  be  a  success  all  around. 

"  What  you  are  doing  is  just  what  every  live  and 
hearty  man  should  be  doing,  but  I  expect  few  appre 
ciate  the  situation  as  you  do.  Here  in  Nashua  and 
vicinity  things  look  first-rate.  I  could  not  ask  for  them 
to  look  better.  Write  me  often  and  keep  pegging 
away." 

In  a  letter  to  Gen.  Horace  Porter,  President  Grant's 
private  secretary,  Rollins  wrote :  "  I  regret  that  I  was 
obliged  to  resign  the  chairmanship  of  the  Republican 
State  committee  of  New  Hampshire  on  account  of 
pressing  business  engagements,  but  I  shall  still  be  in 
the  position  to  be  of  much  service  to  the  cause.  I  shall 
render  it  all  the  aid  in  my  power.  I  never  felt  a 
stronger  inclination  to  make  a  hard  fight  for  the  cause 
than  now,  for  it  seems  to  me  the  best  interests  of  the 
country  require  the  defeat  of  this  mongrel  crew. 

"  The  papers  report  Senator  Wilson  as  giving  up 


290  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

our  State  to  the  enemy.  I  have  not  seen  him  and  am 
not  sure  that  the  report  is  true.  It  seems  to  me  that, 
notwithstanding  the  defection  of  Senatorial  aspirants, 
we  can  still  carry  the  State  if  a  proper  amount  of  work 
is  done.  Tappan  will  not  carry  anybody  with  him  of 
consequence.  Patterson  probably  will  not  go  over  to 
the  enemy  because  they  will  not  accept  him  on  his 
terms,  while  most  of  the  other  Senatorial  aspirants  will 
either  coldly  support  President  Grant  or  do  nothing. 

"  I  returned  from  New  Hampshire  this  A.  M.  1  am 
glad  to  see  that  Senator  Chandler  [Zachariah]  is  to 
speak  there.  Our  people  are  decidedly  more  hopeful, 
and,  in  fact,  I  think  the  tide  is  turned  and  moving  in 
the  right  direction.  If  our  Pennsylvania  troubles  are 
only  settled  —  and  W.  E.  Chandler  writes  me  hope 
fully  about  things  there  —  I  shall  feel  that  the  Presi 
dent's  reelection  is  certain.  Hoping  to  hear  from  you 
when  convenient,  and  trusting  for  a  Grant  triumph, 
I  remain,"  etc. 

To  this  letter  General  Porter  replied :  "  I  was  very 
glad  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  22d  ultimo.  The 
manly  course  pursued  by  you  after  the  result  of  the 
Senatorial  fight  has  won  the  admiration  of  all  your 
friends  and  the  respect  of  your  enemies.  I  hope  you 
will  continue  to  keep  your  shoulder  to  the  wheel  until 
November.  Should  the  Eepublicans  make  New  Hamp 
shire  and  Connecticut  sure,  we  may  count  upon  the 
whole  of  New  England.  I  hope  the  report  is  not  true 
that  Mr.  Wilson  at  any  time  gave  up  your  State.  He 
certainly  will  not  after  the  news  from  Mane." 


RESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  291 

Viewed  solely  from  the  election  returns  in  Novem 
ber,  it  is  difficult  to  see  wherein  the  Republicans  of 
New  Hampshire  had  cause  for  apprehension  of  the 
result  in  their  State.  These  figures  show  nearly  six 
thousand  majority  for  Grant,  while  Governor  Straw 
had  only  about  twelve  hundred  majority  at  the  spring 
election.  But  the  figures  tell  only  the  result  and  not 
the  work  which  brought  about  that  result.  For  several 
months  after  Greeley's  nomination  by  the  Liberal  Re 
publicans  and  endorsement  by  the  Democratic  party, 
there  was  uncertainty  of  the  extent  of  Republican  dis 
affection  in  New  Hampshire.  Besides  Mason  W.  Tap- 
pan,  several  other  well-known  Republicans  of  the  State 
declared  for  Greeley.  Among  these  was  Henry  O. 
Kent,  of  Lancaster,  who  had  been  active  in  politics 
since  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party.  He  had 
owned  and  edited  a  Republican  newspaper  in  Coos 
County,  and  had  fought  the  Republican  battles  in 
this  then  Democratic  stronghold  with  courage  and 
persistency  under  adverse  circumstances.  He  suffered 
the  fate  of  many  another  leader  who  takes  upon  him 
self  the  brunt  of  the  battle  in  seeing  less  active  and 
oftentimes  less  worthy  men  preferred  in  the  distribu 
tion  of  popular  honors.  If  he  chafed  under  this  yoke, 
the  issue  presented  by  the  Liberal  Republican  move 
ment  gave  him  an  opportunity,  which  he  early  im 
proved,  to  cut  loose  from  the  Republican  party.  He 
was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  Democrats  and  was  af 
terward  their  nominee  for  Congress  and  governor. 
During  Cleveland's  first  administration  he  was  ap- 


292  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

pointed  naval  officer  at  the  port  of  Boston.  During 
Cleveland's  second  administration  he  was  offered  the 
position  of  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  which  he  was 
obliged  to  decline  for  business  and  family  reasons. 

Besides  those  who  actually  declared  for  Greeley, 
there  were  a  number  of  Republicans  who  were  at  first 
inclined  to  support  him.  Some  joined  Greeley  clubs 
and  afterward  withdrew.  Others  in  conversation  in 
dicated  an  inclination  to  favor  Greeley,  while,  as  the 
Statesman  said  in  the  article  above  quoted,  there  was 
"  a  lack  of  enthusiasm  for  General  Grant  which  ac 
counts  for  the  confidence  of  his  opponents  and  the 
doubts  of  his  friends."  To  solve  these  doubts  a  large 
amount  of  personal  work  was  performed  by  Rollins 
and  other  members  of  the  State  committee  through  his 
direction.  The  Maine  election  gave  the  Republicans 
much  courage,  but  it  was  not  until  the  October  elec-' 
tions  had  shown  Grant's  reelection  to  be  certain  that 
apprehension  as  to  the  Greeley  movement  in  New 
Hampshire  subsided  or  the  extent  of  Democratic  dis 
gust  at  Greeley's  nomination  was  known.  The  open 
campaign  was  short.  Very  little  speaking  occurred. 
The  early  returns  election  night  of  November,  1872, 
foreshadowed  the  result  both  in  State  and  nation.  For 
a  few  weeks  the  political  parties  in  New  Hampshire 
rested  on  their  arms  preparatory  to  the  approaching 
State  campaign  of  1873. 

In  the  winter  of  1872-3,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
was  under  investigation  by  Congress.  This  investiga 
tion  related  to  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company  of  Amer- 


RESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  293 

ica,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  Rollins 
had  no  connection  with  this  company  and  was  not  even 
a  stockholder  in  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  As- 
treasurer  of  that  railroad,  he  was  examined  as  a  wit 
ness  and  testified  before  the  committee  at  Washington 
and  before  a  subcommittee  that  visited  Boston  to 
further  examine  the  books  and  accounts  of  the  com 
pany.  The  investigation  in  no  way  involved  Rollins 
directly  or  indirectly  with  the  proceedings  which  cut 
short  the  public  career  of  several  distinguished  men, 
but  it  did  occupy  his  time  so  that  he  could  give  but 
little  attention  to  politics.  His  testimony  before  the 
committee  is  thus  epitomized  in  the  Monitor  of  Feb 
ruary  7,  1873 : 

"  In  regard  to  his  employment  by  the  company  in 
Washington,  while  its  secretary  and  treasurer,  Rollins 
said  that  he  never  asked  an  officer  of  the  government, 
a  member  of  the  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives,  to 
do  for  the  company  what  he  would  not  have  done  him 
self  had  he  occupied  their  positions.  He  never  knew 
of  any  money  of  the  company  that  was  expended  for 
political  purposes.  He  furthermore  said  that  he  him 
self  never  received  a  dollar  from  the  company  which 
was  not  earned  by  hard  labor,  and  that  never  to  his 
knowledge  had  a  dollar  been  expended  for  political 
purposes  since  he  became  treasurer. " 

The  spring  campaign  opened  in  New  Hampshire 
in  midwinter  with  the  nomination  of  four  candidates 
for  governor.  The  Republicans  renominated  Governor 
Straw,  and  the  Democrats  James  A.  Weston.  The 


294  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Liberal  Republicans,  who  had  coalesced  with  the  Dem 
ocrats  the  fall  before  in  a  joint  electoral  ticket,  pre 
sented,  as  their  candidate  for  governor,  Samuel  K. 
Mason,  of  Bristol,  and  nominated  candidates  for  Con 
gress  in  each  of  the  three  districts,  endorsing  the  Demo 
cratic  candidate  in  the  first  district.  About  fifty  people 
were  present  at  their  convention,  including  Mason  W. 
Tappan,  Henry  O.  Kent,  Willard  A.  Heard,  of  Sand 
wich,  John  H.  Goodale,  then  of  Nashua,  and  Lemuel 
P.  Cooper,  of  Croydon,  the  last  two  being  of  the  late 
Labor  Reform  party.  Kent  was  made  chairman  of 
their  State  committee,  Goodale  secretary,  and  John 
Foss,  of  Concord,  treasurer.  The  Prohibition  party, 
which  for  two  campaigns  had  polled  an  inconsequential 
vote,  took  on  new  life  in  this  canvass.  Their  nominee 
for  governor  was  John  Blackmer,  of  Sandwich. 

In  all  the  Republican  Congressional  conventions, 
there  was  active  rivalry  for  the  nomination.  In  the 
first  district,  William  B.  Small,  who  was  a  defeated 
candidate  in  18 71,  was  renominated  after  a  spirited 
contest.  In  the  second  district,  Aaron  F.  Stevens  de 
clined  to  be  again  a  candidate,  and  Austin  F.  Pike,  of 
Franklin,  was  nominated.  In  the  third  district,  Simon 
G.  Griffin,  of  Keene,  secured  a  renomination,  although 
meeting  with  strenuous  opposition.  In  the  result  of 
all  these  conventions  Rollins  took  a  deep  interest.  Mr. 
Small  and  Mr.  Pike  had  been  his  staunch  supporters, 
and  his  activity  in  favor  of  both  was  apparent.  In  the 
third  district,  rumor  of  an  attempt  to  bring  forward 
as  a  candidate  Senator  Patterson,  whose  term  as  Sen- 


RESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  295 

ator  expired  March  4th,  caused  Rollins  to  write  some 
vigorous  letters  of  protest  to  his  friends  in  that  district. 
The  Congressional  investigation  of  the  Credit  Mobilier 
Company  had  involved  Senator  Patterson,  and  his 
nomination  for  Congress  would  have  made  that  transac 
tion  a  direct  issue  of  the  campaign.  Whatever  founda 
tion  there  may  have  been  for  the  report,  Senator  Pat 
terson's  candidacy  did  not  materialize. 

The  Democrats  renominated  their  candidates  for 
Congress  in  1871,  who  comprised  the  New  Hampshire 
delegation  in  the  House  at  Washington,  Ellery  A.  Hib- 
bard,  Samuel  N.  Bell,  and  Hosea  W.  Parker. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Republican  State  committee, 
Orrin  C.  Moore,  who  had  succeeded  Rollins  as  chair 
man  when  the  latter  resigned,  was  reflected.  Ben 
jamin  F.  Prescott  was  chosen  secretary,  and  Carlos 
G.  Pressey,  of  Concord,  treasurer.  Moore  was  the 
editor  of  the  Nashua  Telegraph  and  a  young  man  com 
ing  into  prominence  through  his  editorial  writings 
and  his  speeches  upon  the  stump.  He  had  none  of 
those  qualities  which  made  Rollins  successful  as  a 
campaign  manager.  His  conception  of  a  political  cam 
paign  did  not  extend  beyond  the  public  demonstration 
in  the  press  and  upon  the  platform.  He  had  little 
capacity  for  organization  and  no  grasp  of  details.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  strong  prejudices. 
Opposition  intensified  his  earnestness,  but  he  was  apt 
to  look  upon  that  opposition  as  personal  to  himself. 
He  was  a  mere  student  of  theories  and  unpractical  in 
many  things  pertaining  to  politics  and  public  life.  He 


296  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

was  a  forceful  speaker,  a  strong  debater,  and  an  able 
man.  He  lacked  that  spirit  of  conciliation  so  essential 
to  leaders  of  men,  and  was  entirely  devoid  of  humor. 
The  political  honors  he  won  were  in  recognition  of  his 
ability  rather  than  his  popularity.  He  served  with  dis 
tinction  in  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  and  was 
elected  one  term  to  Congress,  where  he  made  himself 
felt,  although  a  new  member.  His  defeat  for  reelection 
at  a  time  when  the  second  district  was  close  was  due 
largely  to  troubles  arising  from  the  distribution  of 
patronage,  a  part  of  his  work  which  he  cordially  dis 
liked  and  for  which  he  had  no  aptitude.  As  a  political 
writer,  he  had  few  equals,  and,  as  a  speaker  upon  the 
stump,  his  services  were  always  in  demand.  Had  his 
lot  been  cast  in  a  State  of  strong  Republican  majorities, 
he  would  have  attained  a  national  reputation. 

In  this  campaign,  Jacob  H.  Gallinger  and  Henry 
M.  Putney,  who  afterward  became  potential  leaders 
of  bhe  Republican  party,  first  appeared  as  members  of 
the  State  committee. 

The  campaign  of  1873  was  quiet  and  uneventful. 
There  was  but  little  public  speaking,  and  no  one  was 
heard  from  outside  the  State.  In  response  to  calls  for 
his  services,  Rollins  was  invited  by  the  State  committee 
to  speak,  and  agreed  to  do  so  if  his  assignments  were 
made  in  such  parts  of  the  State  as  would  enable  him 
to  return  to  his  office  daily.  He  questioned  very  much 
the  advisability  of  his  appearing  on  the  stump  in  view 
of  his  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 


RESIGNS  AS   CHAIRMAN  297 

then  under  investigation.  Writing  Dr.  T.  E.  Hatch, 
of  Keene,  under  date  of  February  17th,  he  said: 

"  There  is  a  good  deal  of  work  to  be  done  in  our 
State  to  make  everything  safe,  in  my  judgment.  I 
have  just  received  a  telegram  from  Griffin  asking  me  to 
speak  at  Whitefield  and  Lancaster  on  the  27th  and  28th. 
They  are  so  far  away  that  I  cannot  possibly  spend  the 
time.  I  must  speak,  if  at  all,  at  points  easy  of  access 
from  Boston.  I  suppose  if  I  undertake  to  speak,  every 
body  will  be  thinking  about  Credit  Mobilier  and  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  it  may  be  questionable  if 
I  can  do  much  good.  I  shall  make  no  defence  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier,  but  shall  stand  by  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  as  a  Republican  measure.  Talk  this  matter 
over  with  Griffin  and  see  what  he  thinks  about  it. 
Situated  as  I  am,  I  cannot  escape  discussing  this  matter 
on  the  stump." 

While  Rollins  did  not  speak  in  the  campaign,  his  in 
terest  in  the  work  continued  unabated.  February  25th 
he  wrote  to  Chairman  Moore  as  follows :  "  Your  article 
in  a  recent  issue,  on  the  *  State  Tax/  is  a  capital  one.  I 
see  that  it  is  copied  into  the  Monitor,  and  I  hope  it  will 
be  published  in  every  Republican  paper  in  the  State. 
The  Democrats  should  be  charged  with  repudiation, 
and  their  shortcomings,  in  this  regard,  kept  before  the 
people.  No  doubt  you  are  looking  after  the  close 
towns,  for  they  are  the  key  to  the  situation.  We  never 
fail  to  carry  the  State  when  these  are  secured." 

The  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  committee 
was  George  F.  Putnam,  of  Warren,  who  conducted  the 


298  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

campaign  with  more  method  than  some  of  his  prede 
cessors.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  legislature, 
where  he  obtained  prominence  by  his  knowledge  of 
parliamentary  practice,  and  his  skill  in  debate.  He 
was  a  lawyer,  a  pleasing  speaker,  and  a  man  of  large 
executive  ability.  Later  he  aspired  to  the  nomination 
for  Congress,  but  was  beaten  in  the  Democratic  conven 
tion  by  Henry  O.  Kent.  Soon  after  this  he  removed 
to  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  where  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  business  pursuits. 

Affairs  at  Washington  favored  the  Democratic  party. 
The  Credit  Mobilier  investigation  involved  a  large 
number  of  prominent  Kepublican  leaders  in  Congress 
and  only  a  few  Democrats.  The  report  of  the  investi 
gating  committee,  while  it  exonerated  several,  reproved 
some  for  indiscreet  action,  and  strongly  censured  others. 
This  investigation  had  been  conducted  by  a  committee 
of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives.  ~No  defence  could  be 
made  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company,  and  the  Re 
publicans  attempted  none.  More  members  of  their 
party  were  involved  than  Democrats,  and,  being  the 
party  in  power,  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  having 
been  aided  by  the  government,  the  Republicans  had 
to  bear  the  odium  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal  of 
bribery  and  illegal  profits. 

In  addition  to  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal,  a  bill 
was  passed  by  Congress  increasing  the  salary  of  the 
President,  the  Vice-President,  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
Supreme  Court  judges,  Senators,  and  members  of  Con 
gress.  The  bill  was  known  as  "  the  salary  grab,"  be- 


EESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  299 

cause  the  increase  in  salary  of  Senators  and  Congress 
men  dated  back  to  the  time  of  their  qualification  as 
members.  The  three  Democratic  members  from  'New 
Hampshire  voted  against  the  bill,  and  two  of  them 
afterward  refused  to  accept  the  extra  salary,  as  did 
a  large  number  of  Senators  and  Kepresentatives.  This 
measure  provoked  a  storm  of  indignation  from  the 
press  of  the  country,  because  it  gave  back  pay  to  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  and,  coming  just  before  the  New 
Hampshire  election,  it  put  the  Republican  party  in 
this  State  on  the  defensive. 

The  vote  at  the  March  election  of  1873  fell  off  over 
eight  thousand  in  the  aggregate  from  that  of  the  March 
election  of  1872.  The  first  returns  indicated  the  fail 
ure  of  the  election  of  governor  by  the  people  and  the  re 
election  of  all  three  Democratic  members  for  Congress, 
with  the  Republicans  holding  the  legislature.  Com 
plete  returns  showed  that  Governor  Straw  had  a  bare 
majority  of  214  on  the  popular  vote,  and  that  Small 
and  Pike,  Republican  candidates  in  the  first  and  sec 
ond  Congressional  districts,  were  elected  by  small  plu 
ralities,  and  that  Parker,  the  Democratic  candidate 
in  the  third  district,  was  reflected.  The  vote  for  gov 
ernor  was :  Scattering,  8 ;  Samuel  K.  Mason,  687 ; 
John  Blackmer,  1,098;  James  A.  Weston,  32,016; 
Ezekiel  A.  Straw,  34,023. 

That  Rollins  was  disturbed  by  the  election  returns 
and  the  small  majority  secured  for  the  Republican 
State  ticket  is  shown  by  his  letter  to  Congressman 
Small  under  date  of  March  26th.  He  says: 


300  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

"  I  most  heartily  congratulate  you  on  your  election 
to  the  House  of  Representatives.  You  had  a  hard 
fight  and  have  come  off  victorious,  much  to  your  credit. 
You  had  to  fight  your  own  fight  and  I  only  regret  it 
was  not  in  my  power  to  render  you  more  assistance. 
I  fully  appreciate  your  complimentary  remarks  con 
cerning  myself,  and  feel  grateful  for  your  assurances 
of  consideration  hereafter.  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  call 
upon  you  whenever  I  think  you  can  aid  a  friend  or 
advance  the  cause.  When  in  Boston,  please  call  and  see 
me  and  we  will  talk  over  the  fight.  Something  should 
be  done  at  an  early  date  looking  to  the  future  of  our 
party  in  the  State.  In  its  present  demoralized  condi 
tion  it  needs  looking  after.  We  must  put  our  best  foot 
forward  to  secure  success." 

Although  holding  no  official  position  in  the  party, 
Rollins  continued  to  be  consulted  on  matters  of  party 
policy  and  to  be  appealed  to  for  assistance  by  can 
didates  for  office. 

He  never  forgot  a  promise  to  help  a  friend,  and 
the  persistency  with  which  he  urged  an  appointment 
gave  no  peace  to  the  appointing  power.  In  one  in 
stance,  that  of  a  railway  mail  appointment,  there  is 
continued  evidence  in  his  letter-books  running  through 
more  than  two  years  that  he  had  the  applicant  con 
stantly  in  mind.  A  failure  on  the  part  of  any  one  to 
keep  a  political  promise  always  roused  his  indignation, 
and,  whether  it  was  a  Cabinet  officer  or  a  bureau  chief 
who  was  the  offender,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  remind 
him  that  such  a  promise  should  be  as  sacred  as  a 


RESIGNS   AS    CHAIRMAN  301 

business  obligation.  This  persistency  in  anything  he 
undertook  brought  to  Rollins  many  applications  for 
counsel  and  help  from  ambitious  men  within  the  party, 
although  he  held  no  official  position  to  support  his  rec 
ommendations.  Appeals  were  also  made  to  him  for 
advice  whenever  there  was  local  political  trouble  in  the 
State,  to  which  he  always  responded  urging  patience, 
forbearance,  and  the  harmonizing  of  differences. 

Although  Rollins  secured  in  his  time  many  positions 
under  the  government  for  young  men,  for  the  civil 
service  law  was  not  passed  until  1883,  he  was  very 
much  opposed  to  a  young  man  of  character  taking  one 
of  these  places,  especially  if  it  were  in  the  departmental 
service  at  Washington.  His  first  reply  to  an  applicant 
was  usually  a  lecture  to  the  young  man,  in  which  he 
assured  him  that  he  was  better  off  in  a  position  at 
home  even  if  it  were  not  so  lucrative.  In  some  in 
stances  his  advice  was  heeded.  In  1871  Henry  M. 
Baker,  of  Bow,  who  was  then  in  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment,  applied  to  Rollins  for  assistance  in  securing  a 
promotion.  The  letter  of  reply  is  characteristic  of 
Rollins. 

"  MY  DEAR  MISGUIDED  FRIEND  :  —  I  have  yours  of 
the  10th  inst.  before  me,  and  note  your  remarks  with 
reference  to  the  vacancy  in  the  office  of  commissioner 
of  customs.  Agreeably  to  your  request,  and  to  gratify 
you,  though  contrary  to  my  best  judgment,  I  enclose 
you  herewith  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  Secretary 
Boutwell.  If  you  have  your  heart  set  upon  it,  I  am 


302  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

willing  and  perhaps  desirous  that  you  should  succeed, 
although  I  am  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  it  will  be  a 
calamity  to  you.  I  have  so  much  regard  for  you  and 
for  your  success  in  life  that,  did  I  not  suppose  you  had 
considerable  feeling  in  the  matter,  I  should  write  to 
Boutwell  and  urge  him  to  remove  you  from  office  at 
once.  What  a  great  blessing  it  would  be  if  he  would 
kick  you  out  of  the  Treasury  Department  before  the 
sun  sets !  If  you  will  remain  where  you  are  you  may 
safely  calculate  the  road  to  ruin  lies  wide  open  before 
you,  and  you  are  bound  to  pursue  it  to  the  end.  I 
hope  you  will  change  your  views,  and  turn  yourself  out 
into  the  world.  There  is  enough  of  you  to  make  a  man, 
but  I  am  very  much  afraid  that  we  shall  never  have 
the  evidence  of  it  if  you  remain  where  you  are." 

A  little  later  Baker  followed  Kollins's  advice  and 
resigned  to  practice  his  profession  of  law  at  Washing 
ton.  Keeping  in  close  touch  with  New  Hampshire 
he  engaged  actively  in  politics,  becoming  a  prominent 
political  factor  in  the  State.  He  was  elected  to  the 
States  Senate  and  afterward  a  member  of  Congress  for 
two  terms.  In  1901  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  United 
States  Senate  with  considerable  support. 


CHAPTEE    XVII. 

A    DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH 

THE  organization  of  the  Grange  or  "  Patrons  of 
Husbandry  "  in  New  Hampshire  was  not  without  its 
influence  on  political  parties  of  the  State  during  this 
and  the  succeeding  campaign.  Politicians  expected  the 
Grange  to  become  ultimately  a  factor  in  politics,  and 
the  leaders  of  both  sides  catered  for  the  support  of  the 
farmer  vote.  Long  before  the  conventions  the  Man 
chester  Mirror  urged  the  nomination  of  a  farmer  for 
governor  by  the  Republicans.  Governor  Straw  had 
had  the  customary  two  terms.  A  new  candidate  was 
now  to  be  brought  forward  by  the  Republican  party. 
Those  most  prominently  mentioned  were  Luther 
McCutchins,  of  New  London,  Charles  H.  Bell,  of  Ex 
eter,  Dexter  Richards,  of  Newport,  Benjamin  F.  Pres- 
cott,  of  Epping,  William  H.  Y.  Hackett,  of  Ports 
mouth,  Natt  Head,  of  Hooksett,  David  A.  Warde,  of 
Concord,  Benjamin  J.  Cole,  of  Gilford,  and  Larkin 
D.  Mason,  of  Tarn  worth.  McCutchins  was  favored  be 
cause  he  was  a  farmer,  the  others  because  they  had 
been  active  in  the  party  and  were  worthy  of  recogni 
tion.  Mason  was  especially  urged  by  some  because 
it  was  thought  his  activity  in  behalf  of  temperance 

303 


304  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

would  hold  the  Prohibition  Republicans  loyally  to  the 
party  standard. 

The  Pearson  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  whose 
platform  continued  to  be  anti-monopoly,  advocated 
the  nomination  of  a  farmer  for  governor.  This 
brought  forward  as  a  candidate  Hiram  R.  Roberts,  of 
Rollinsford. 

The  Republican  State  committee  met  November  20, 
1873,  to  fix  the  times  and  places  for  holding  the  sev 
eral  conventions.  There  was  a  large  attendance  at  the 
meeting.  After  the  routine  work,  speeches  were  made 
by  Rollins,  Harriman,  and  Wadleigh.  The  Monitor 
said  of  the  meeting: 

"  Much  enthusiasm  was  manifested  and,  when  Rol 
lins  laid  down  the  proposition  that  something  must  be 
done  to  relieve  the  country  of  its  burdens  and  that  our 
Congressional  delegation  must  help  repeal  the  ob 
noxious  salary  grab,  the  applause  was  loud  and  pro 
longed.  His  suggestion  also  that  the  amount  of  the  de 
ficiency  complained  of  by  the  internal  revenue  com 
missioner  in  his  report  might  better  be  obtained  by 
reorganizing  our  banking  system  and  saving  the  in 
terest  than  by  a  tax  on  tea  and  coffee,  as  suggested  by 
the  commissioner,  seemed  also  to  touch  a  responsive 
chord.  The  assertion  with  which  Mr.  Rollins  closed, 
viz.,  that  the  best  way  to  succeed  in  the  coming  cam 
paign  is  to  let  the  office  seek  the  man,  met  with  un 
mistakable  approbation." 

The  Republican  convention  was  held  at  Concord, 
January  7,  1874.  Rollins  was  absent  in  New  York 


A  DEMOCRATIC   TRIUMPH  305 

on  railroad  business,  but  he  wrote  Daniel  Hall  making 
suggestions  as  to  the  platform  to  be  adopted  by  the 
convention.  The  resolutions  reported  by  the  committee 
were  accepted  without  debate  in  the  convention,  but 
they  were  the  subject  of  much  discussion  and  conten 
tion  in  the  committee.  Rollins' s  suggestions  were  not 
adopted,  and  there  was  some  apprehension  on  his  part 
and  the  part  of  other  leaders  that  the  platform  was  not 
as  skilfully  drawn  as  it  might  have  been.  There  were 
four  ballots  for  governor,  a  large  number  of  candidates 
receiving  votes  on  the  first  ballot,  those  leading  being 
Luther  McCutchins  and  Charles  H.  Bell.  The  former 
won  on  the  fourth  ballot.  It  was  generally  regarded 
by  the  party  as  a  good  nomination,  though  not  a  few 
of  the  leaders  had  doubts  of  its  wisdom.  These  doubts 
were  strengthened  when  the  Democratic  convention 
selected  its  candidates  and  presented  its  platform. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  the  next 
day,  January  8th.  The  Democratic  newspapers  had 
advocated  making  an  issue  of  the  liquor  question,  and 
in  the  Democratic  platform  a  plank  was  inserted  favor 
ing  license  with  local  option.  The  contest  for  the 
nomination  for  governor  was  between  Albert  R.  Hatch, 
of  Portsmouth,  Hiram  R.  Roberts,  of  Rollinsford,  and 
James  A.  Weston,  of  Manchester.  The  movement  in 
favor  of  "  Farmer  "  Roberts  had  gained  such  headway 
that  the  Democratic  leaders  who  were  opposed  to  his 
nomination  had  great  difficulty  in  controlling  the  con 
vention.  Two  ballots  were  necessary  to  effect  a  choice. 
On  the  first  ballot  Weston  received  240  votes,  Roberts 


306  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

230,  and  Hatch  143.  On  the  second  ballot  the  greater 
part  of  Hatch's  support  was  transferred  to  Weston, 
who  became  the  nominee. 

The  Prohibitionists  had  previously  renominated  the 
Rev.  John  Blackmer,  of  Sandwich.  After  the  Repub 
lican  and  Democratic  conventions  were  held,  the  third 
party  adherents  were  stirred  to  greater  activity.  The 
Republican  plank  on  the  liquor  question  was  regarded 
by  them  as  perfunctory,  while  the  Democrats  were 
arrayed  in  open  opposition  to  the  prohibitory  law. 
The  Prohibitionists,  therefore,  hoped  so  to  increase 
their  strength  as  to  hold  tl^e  balance  of  power  in  the 
State. 

The  Republican  State  committee  met  for  organiza 
tion  January  16th.  The  Monitor  in  its  report  of  the 
meeting  says :  "  The  chairman,  O.  C.  Moore,  of 
Nashua,  called  the  meeting  to  order,  stated  its  objects, 
the  first  being  the  election  of  a  chairman,  and  then 
called  for  an  expression  of  opinion  by  ballot,  indicat 
ing  a  cheerful  readiness  to  yield  up  the  chairmanship 
if  it  was  thought  best  to  make  a  change.  Two  ballots 
were  taken  without  a  choice,  Mr.  Moore  leading  and 
Daniel  Hall,  of  Dover,  being  next  in  order.  On  the 
third  ballot  Mr.  Hall  was  elected.  Benjamin  F.  Pres- 
cott  was  reflected  secretary  and  Charles  H.  Roberts, 
of  Concord,  was  chosen  treasurer.  An  executive  com 
mittee  consisting  of  David  A.  Warde,  of  Concord,  and 
James  A.  Wood,  of  Acworth,  was  then  elected  to  co 
operate  with  the  chairman.  Brief  but  earnest  speeches 
were  made  by  Warde,  of  Concord,  Clarke  [John  B.]> 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  307 

of  Manchester,  Rollins,  of  Concord,  and  J.  Horace 
Kent,  of  Portsmouth." 

Hall  reluctantly  accepted  the  chairmanship.  The 
margin  of  victory  the  year  before  had  been  very  nar 
row,  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  majority  on  the 
popular  vote  for  governor.  The  action  of  the  Demo 
crats  in  thrusting  the  liquor  question  into  the  canvass 
added  to  the  uncertainty.  Realizing  that  it  was  to  be 
a  doubtful  campaign,  urgent  appeals  had  been  made 
to  both  Rollins  and  Chandler  to  accept  an  election  to 
the  chairmanship  of  the  committee.  In  a  letter  to 
Rollins  January  14th,  Congressman  Pike  said: 
"  Friend  Rollins :  —  You  must  run  the  campaign  this 
year  or  we  are  gone  e  where  the  woodbine  twineth.' 
Now  make  up  your  mind  to  take  it,  and  wade  in." 

On  the  same  day  Chandler  wrote  Rollins :  "  I  have 
an  urgent  appeal  signed  by  Henry  M.  Putney,  James 
A.  Wood,  Cyrus  A.  Sulloway,  and  Henry  French  to 
come  home  and  act  as  chairman  of  the  committee.  I 
wish  I  could  go,  but  do  not  see  how  it  could  be  possible 
even  if  I  were  unanimously  elected." 

The  Democrats  reflected  George  F.  Putnam,  of  War 
ren,  as  chairman  of  their  committee,  and  entered  upon 
the  campaign  with  a  spirit  of  confidence.  There  were 
very  few  political  rallies  on  either  side,  the  Democrats 
conducting  a  "  still  hunt "  canvass.  A  momentary 
gleam  of  encouragement  came  to  the  Republicans  from 
the  bolt  of  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor  by 
Foster  s  Democrat,  a  Democratic  newspaper  in  Dover. 
This  newspaper  claimed  that  the  party  had  been  be- 


308  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

trayed  by  its  leaders  in  preferring  Weston  to  Roberts 
as  a  candidate,  and  that  corporation  influence  con 
trolled  the  Democratic  party.  Roberts,  however,  came 
out  in  a  letter  endorsing  Weston's  nomination,  and  but 
few  Democrats  were  influenced  by  the  attitude  of 
Foster's  paper. 

Rollins,  in  response  to  Chairman  Hall's  appeal, 
wrote  from  his  office  in  Boston  many  letters  to  active 
Republicans  of  the  State  urging  activity  and  the  neces 
sity  for  united  effort  if  the  election  was  to  be  carried. 
In  the  midst  of  this  campaign  Congressman  Dawes, 
of  Massachusetts,  chairman  of  the  appropriations  com 
mittee,  made  a  speech  in  Congress  similar  to  the  one 
he  made  in  1870,  which  was  considered  by  the  Demo 
crats  as  an  attack  upon  the  national  administration  for 
its  extravagance  in  appropriations  and  expenditures. 
Like  his  former  speech,  it  was  spread  broadcast  over 
the  State  by  the  Democratic  State  committee.  Rollins 
was  applied  to  to  secure  Dawes's  services  upon  the 
stump.  He  communicated  with  Chandler  in  Wash 
ington,  but  they  were  unable  to  get  Dawes  to  speak. 
Then  he  telegraphed  Dawes  as  follows: 

"  The  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  unanimously 
favor  rigid  economy  and  sustain  the  administration 
of  President  Grant.  Your  late  speeches  have  been 
construed  by  copperheads,  soreheads,  and  pretended 
labor  reformers  into  attacks  upon  the  administration 
and  the  Republican  party,  and  they  say  you  will  refuse 
to  speak  for  the  Republican  cause  in  New  Hampshire. 
Being  as  sure  of  your  devotion  to  the  Republican  party 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  309 

and  to  the  national  administration  as  we  are  of  your 
determination  to  reduce  appropriations  and  enforce 
economy,  in  behalf  of  the  Kepublican  State  committee 
I  have  to  earnestly  request  you  to  visit  and  canvass 
New  Hampshire  before  the  March  election.'7 

Dawes  telegraphed  this  reply :  "  I  regret  that  my 
engagements  make  it  impossible  for  me  to  speak  in 
IsTew  Hampshire  before  election  for  a  cause  never 
more  worthy  of  support,  and  never  dearer  to  me  than 
now  —  retrenchment  and  reform  by  and  through  the 
Republican  party." 

As  the  despatch  bore  date  of  Dawes's  home  in  Pitts- 
field,  Mass.,  the  Democrats  construed  it  as  an  unwill 
ingness  on  his  part  to  appear  in  the  State  and  explain 
the  charges  he  had  made  against  the  administration. 

The  following  letter  to  Rollins  from  Henry  W.  Blair, 
afterward  member  of  Congress  and  United  States  Sen 
ator,  shows  the  political  situation  in  the  State,  the 
dangers  to  Republican  success,  and  the  faith  of  the 
party  workers  in  Rollins's  ability  to  bring  victory  out 
of  defeat. 

"  The  prospect  in  our  vicinity  is  rather  mixed  — 
the  general  result,  I  think,  cannot  be  any  better  than 
last  year.  The  Prohibition  party  and  the  license  move 
ment  both  hurt  us,  and  it  will  be  almost  impossible  to 
avoid  losses  upon  State  and  county,  and  I  fear  for  one 
or  two  Representatives  also.  Still  we  shall  do  the  best 
that  can  be  done.  Our  standard  workers  are  in  the 
field,  and,  realizing  the  danger,  will  do  the  best  to 
avert  it. 


310 


LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 


"  You  make  a  suggestion  as  to  my  personal  duty  if 
I  expect  a  certain  result.  That  result  I  do  not  seriously 
expect  in  any  event,  although  I  should  be  gratified  if 
considered  fit  for  the  position  and  nominated  by  the 
general  and  unsolicited  preference  of  the  party,  but  in 
these  times  the  prevalence  of  new  ideas  and  the  class 
prejudices  which  are  being  appealed  to,  and  in  some 
sections  of  the  country  at  least  aroused,  will  be  very 
likely  to  lay  one  of  my  profession  upon  the  shelf,  cer 
tainly  for  the  present.  This,  however,  is  not  im 
portant,  for  the  State  will  be  perhaps  better  served  by 
some  hard-fisted  farmer  —  although  they  won't  get  a 
man  who  knows  more  of  the  sorrows  of  the  toughest 
sort  of  hill-farm  husbandry  than  I  did  until  my 
twenty-first  year.  I  hope  you  will  not  spare  your  pen 
during  this  campaign.  Your  very  extensive  acquaint 
ance  throughout  the  State  with  the  working  element 
of  the  party  will  enable  you  to  work  most  effectively 
in  furtherance  of  our  cause.  There  cannot  be  a  single 
town  where  you  may  not  save  and  perhaps  make  us 
votes  by  a  word  in  season  to  the  right  person." 

February  24th  Rollins  wrote  Chandler  as  follows: 
"  I  am  writing  into  the  State  all  the  letters  possible, 
and  have  a  large  correspondence.  Our  people  are  be 
ing  gradually  worked  up  to  the  importance  of  the  elec 
tion,  but  '  free  rum '  on  one  side  and  the  ultra  temper 
ance  men  on  the  other,  both  fighting  the  Republicans 
and  playing  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  make 
the  situation  critical.  However,  I  hope  we  shall  worry 
through." 


A  DEMOCRATIC   TRIUMPH  311 

A  letter  from  Ithiel  E.  Clay,  of  Chatham,  in  reply 
to  one  received  from  Rollins  is  indicative  of  the  con 
fidence  the  party  had  in  his  management :  "It  seems 
like  old  times  in  politics  to  hear  from  you,  although 
I  had  supposed  you  were  lost  to  New  Hampshire  polit 
ically.  As  to  our  town,  we  hope  to  come  out  all  right. 
Still  many  of  our  men  are  lukewarm  and  seem  indif 
ferent  as  to  the  result  of  the  election.  Those  moves 
at  Washington  one  year  ago  staggered  many  of  our 
thinking  laboring  men  to  such  a  degree  that  it  is  dif 
ficult  to  make  them  believe  that  our  rulers  care  for 
their  country  as  they  should.  I  have  never  known  the 
Democrats  to  be  more  active  in  this  town  than  now.  I 
never  have  had  but  small  personal  acquaintance  with 
you,  but  I  have  received  so  many  communications  and 
favors  from  you  that  you  seem  like  an  old  friend  with 
whom  I  have  struggled  for  principles  and  success  of 
which  we  may  well  be  proud.  The  Republicans  of 
New  Hampshire  are  much  indebted  to  you  for  their 
past  achievements,  and  I  always  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
from  you  and  hope  ever  to  keep  track  of  you  while  life 
lasts.  I  hope  when  you  get  the  returns  from  Chatham 
they  will  be  all  right,  as  well  as  those  from  New  Hamp 
shire." 

The  election  returns  from  the  earliest  reports  bore 
indications  of  Democratic  victory,  and  before  mid 
night  of  the  day  of  the  election  the  Republicans  had 
given  up  the  State.  There  was  no  choice  of  governor 
by  the  people,  the  Prohibitionists  doubling  their  vote 
of  the  year  previous.  The  House  of  Representatives, 


312 


LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    KOLLINS 


upon  which  depended  the  control  of  the  State,  was 
Democratic  by  at  least  ten  majority.  The  official  vote 
was:  Scattering,  40;  Blackmer,  2,100;  McCutchins, 
34,143;  Weston,  35,608. 

Immediately  after  election  Chairman  Hall  wrote 
Eollins :  "  It  seems  that  we  have  lost  everything  — 
governor,  Council,  Senate,  and  House.  I  cannot  ex 
press  my  mortification  at  this  result.  If  I  had  had  no 
responsibility  beyond  that  of  an  ordinary  Republican 
fighting  in  the  ranks  I  should  not  feel  very  badly  about 
it.  But  the  fortunes  of  the  party  and  of  its  individual 
members  in  office  and  hoping  for  office,  they  will  say, 
go  down  under  my  mismanagement,  and,  of  course, 
I  shall  never  be  forgiven.  No  general  is  ever  forgiven 
for  losing  a  battle.  This  is  hard  to  bear,  and  is  about 
as  much  as  I  can  bear." 

To  this  Eollins  replied:  "  Yours  of  the  13th  is  just 
at  hand.  I  intended  to  have  written  you  before,  but 
this  has  been  an  exceedingly  busy  week  with  me.  An 
nual  meeting,  directors'  meetings,  and  signing  of  bonds, 
with  the  usual  business  of  the  office,  have  left  me  no 
time  for  private  correspondence. 

"  I  feel  exceedingly  mortified  myself,  in  view  of  the 
result  in  New  Hampshire,  although  in  looking  back 
over  the  past,  I  do  not  see  anything  that  I  could  have 
done  to  have  changed  the  result.  I  have  acted  each 
day  according  to  the  light  I  had,  and  I  have  nothing 
to  reproach  myself  with;  and  what  I  say  of  my  own 
conduct,  I  feel  to  be  equally  true  of  your  own. 

"  You  have  no  occasion  to  reproach  yourself  in  any 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  313 

respect.  I  can  bear  willing  testimony  to  your  earnest 
efforts  for  the  cause,  and  think  you  have  labored  dis 
creetly  and  with  great  ability.  The  Eepublicans  of 
New  Hampshire  owe  you  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the 
determined  efforts  you  have  made  to  save  the  State. 
It  doesn't  matter  what  a  few  disappointed  men  say.  I 
know,  and  all  must  know  who  have  had  any  oppor 
tunity  to  form  a  correct  opinion,  that  you  have  done 
everything  it  was  in  your  power  to  do,  even  to  the 
sacrifice  of  your  business  and  personal  comfort. 

"  I  am  very  anxious  indeed  to  see  you,  and  look 
over  the  field  and  see  if  there  is  anything  that  can  be 
done  for  the  cause.  We  must  keep  our  standard  well 
advanced  and  continue  the  fight.  We  cannot  lug  San- 
born  contracts  and  this  infernal  moiety  system  with 
out  suffering." 

The  Monitor  in  summing  up  the  causes  of  Republi 
can  defeat  said :  "  We  charge  the  repulse  we  have 
suffered  to  the  shortcomings,  unavoidable  in  part  there 
is  no  doubt,  of  the  national  government.  We  were  too 
heavily  handicapped  with  Sanborn  contracts,  Jayne 
and  Bingham  blackmailings,  Western  inflation 
schemes,  the  moiety  system,  and  the  failure  of  Con 
gress  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  masses  by  legislation 
demanded  by  the  hard  times.  ...  To  be  sure,  the 
course  of  the  Prohibitionists  in  running  a  third  ticket 
has  worked  to  our  injury,  but  this  alone  could  not 
have  prevented  the  election  of  McCutchins." 

The  Manchester  Mirror,  while  admitting  that  these 
national  issues  were  not  without  their  influence,  at- 


314  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

tributed  defeat  to  the  liquor  interests,  which  it  charged 
with  supporting  the  Democratic  party  and  supplying 
it  with  funds. 

Whatever  the  cause  that  led  to  Democratic  success, 
the  completeness  of  their  triumph  was  admitted.  For 
the  first  time  in  twenty  years  that  party  was  to  be  put 
in  full  possession  of  the  State  government.  Moreover, 
by  reorganizing  the  courts,  they  would  control  as  well 
the  State  judiciary.  They  could  legislate  Republicans 
out  of  office,  appoint  Democrats  in  their  places,  redis- 
trict  the  State  for  Councillors  and  Senators,  change 
the  ward  lines  of  cities,  take  the  initiative  in  legisla 
tion,  and  avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to 
fortify  their  party  in  power.  The  outlook  for  the  Re 
publican  party  in  New  Hampshire  was  the  most 
gloomy  it  had  ever  been. 

Among  the  steadfast  Republicans  of  the  State  whom 
Rollins  always  relied  upon  for  effective  work  was  Lar- 
kin  D.  Mason,  of  Tamworth,  for  many  years  judge  of 
probate  of  Carroll  County.  He  was  a,  quaint  char 
acter.  An  early  abolitionist,  a  prominent  temperance 
worker,  and  an  agent  of  the  State  during  the  Civil  War 
to  look  after  the  soldiers,  he  had  a  strong  personal 
influence  with  these  elements  of  the  party.  Although 
he  was  not  an  educated  man,  his  fund  of  common  sense 
and  his  odd  illustrations  gave  force  and  pungency  to 
his  speeches  and  writings.  He  was  in  constant  cor 
respondence  with  Rollins,  and  some  of  his  letters  are 
quite  frank  and  amusing.  In  1872,  replying  to  Rol 
lins' s  request  for  his  support  for  Senator,  he  said : 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  315 

"  I  don't  know  just  when  I  shall  go  to  Boston  or 
see  you.  I  remain  the  same  '  Senatorially '  as  for 
merly.  I  am  quiet.  I  don't  have  great  advantages  of 
late  to  associate  with  the  Republican  party.  A  myste 
rious  Providence  interposes.  There  has  not  been  an 
important  meeting  of  the  State  committee  for  a  long 
while  but  has  been  on  the  day  of  probate  court  in 
Carroll  County.  Don't  understand  me  to  complain 
of  Providence.  Its  ways  are  mysterious.  I  have  a 
neighbor  who  is  very  jealous  of  me.  When  we  are 
before  the  people,  I  always  win.  So  his  remedy  is  to 
have  communion  with  his  God  and  get  him  to  inter 
pose  a  special  Providence.  As  he  is  a  man  of  prayer, 
Providence  grants  his  request  and  I  am  not  in  the 
ring.  I  have  got  the  hang  of  Providence  so  that  I  am 
able  to  foretell  months  beforehand  when  all  our  con 
ventions  will  come  off.  ISTatt  Hubbard  will  bear  me 
witness  that  I  told  him  as  soon  as  last  March  that  our 
convention  to  choose  delegates  to  the  Philadelphia  con 
vention  would  come  off  May  8th.  I  will  now  tell  you 
when  our  next  State  convention  will  occur.  It  will 
be  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans, 
January  8th.  The  probate  court  will  be  held  at  Con- 
way  on  the  7th,  so  of  course  I  cannot  meet  with  the 
State  committee  if  invited,  and  you  must  excuse  me. 
I  hope  you  will  see  in  this  what  advantages  Providence 
gives  the  humble  Christian  who  is  a  man  of  prayer,  and, 
as  this  old  friend  will  not  fail  to  plead,  I  prepare  my 
self  to  submit  to  Providence.  I  appreciate  your  past 
service  and  hope  I  will  do  you  no  injustice.  I  will 


316  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

make  up  my  mind  by  and  by  what  my  duty  is  and  then 
try  and  perform  it.  Still  Providence  shuts  me  out  to 
prevent  my  doing  mischief.  Of  course  it  will  not  re 
quire  of  me  much  good.  I  think  I  may  see  you  ere 
this  month  is  out,  and  I  will  compare  notes  with  you." 
In  the  campaign  of  1874  the  Prohibitionists  polled 
the  largest  vote  they  had  ever  polled  in  the  State.  It 
was  their  defection  which  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
defeat  of  McCutchins.  Their  vote  this  year  exceeded 
all  their  other  totals  by  nearly  a  thousand.  Orrin 
C.  Moore  in  the  Nashua  Telegraph,  prior  to  the  Re 
publican  convention  of  18 74,  in  mentioning  candidates 
for  the  gubernatorial  nomination,  had  spoken  most 
flatteringly  of  Larkin  D.  Mason,  whose  work  among 
the  ultra  temperance  Republicans  of  the  State  had 
been  most  effective  in  holding  them  in  the  Republi 
can  party.  After  the  election,  Mason  felt  that,  if  he 
could  have  been  nominated  for  governor,  the  State 
would  have  been  saved,  and,  in  a  letter  to  Rollins,  he 
attributed  his  passing  as  a  gubernatorial  candidate  to 
the  influence  of  the  "  clique,"  namely,  Rollins,  Chand 
ler,  and  Ordway.  He  also  expressed  the  opinion  that 
his  nomination  would  have  brought  Fogg,  Tappan, 
and  other  disaffected  Republicans  into  more  active 
support  of  the  party.  Neither  discouraged  nor  waver 
ing  in  his  support  of  the  Republican  party,  he  frankly 
put  the  case  to  Rollins  that  his  (Mason's)  candidacy 
for  governor  in  1875  would  bring  back  the  disaffected 
and  restore  the  party  to  power.  He  asked  Rollins's  ad 
vice,  and  this  part  of  his  letter  is  as  follows: 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  317 

"  Now  suppose  we  were  just  entering  upon  the  new 
campaign,  and  suppose  the  Nashua  Telegraph  should 
present  my  name  as  it  did  last  fall,  and  then  suppose 
the  '  clique '  should  get  together,  and,  instead  of 
'  cussin' '  Moore  for  his  treason,  they  should  say  let  us 
try  and  rally  the  whole  organization  and  should  then 
let  some  of  their  more  quiet  ones  succeed  Moore. 
Then  let  some  soldiers,  who  would  delight  to  do  it, 
start  the  ball.  Let  Fogg,  Tappan,  and  Cogswell,  and 
Gove,  and  Heard,  and  finally  all  that  host  among  the 
masses  who  have  perfect  confidence  in  me,  come  into 
line.  Then  let  the  '  clique '  or,  if  you  choose,  Ord- 
way,  Rollins,  Harriman,  Hall,  and  all  their  allies  and 
supporters,  quietly,  firmly,  sincerely,  and  determinedly 
put  their  science,  skill,  and  activity  into  the  cam 
paign.  What  do  you  suppose  would  he  the  result  ?  Of 
course,  Eollins,  you  will  readily  see  this  is  a  kind  of 
a  feeler.  I  put  it  forth  with  the  sincere  belief  that 
some  such  an  arrangement  promises  the  only  hope  of 
ever  developing  the  full  strength  of  the  Republican 
party  again.  I  do  not  necessarily  feel  that  I  must 
have  any  prominent  place,  but  who  is  more  competent  ? 
Something  must  be  done  first  to  recover  our  lost  posi 
tion,  and  this  something  must  be  a  recall  of  all  the 
exiled  ones.  Please  write  me,  and  do  not  despise  the 
day  of  small  things." 

To  this  letter  Rollins  replied :  "  Yours  of  March 
26th  is  received  and  has  been  perused  with  great  care. 
In  looking  back  over  the  history  of  the  Republican 
party  from  its  organization  in  New  Hampshire  to  the 


318  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

present  moment  I  can  see  no  reason  why  I  should  ob 
ject  to  the  term  '  clique/  and  to  being  reckoned  a  por 
tion  of  the  '  clique.'  The  past  must  stand,  and  results, 
at  least  in  my  judgment,  vindicate  my  political  course 
in  New  Hampshire. 

"  Now  as  to  the  gubernatorial  nomination  —  I  do 
not  know  whom  all  the  members  of  the  '  clique '  were 
for.  Ordway,  I  believe,  was  the  only  member  present 
at  the  convention,  and  he  was  for  Natt  White.  I  was 
in  New  York  and  can  hardly  tell  what  I  should  have 
done  had  I  been  present,  but  have  no  idea  that  I  should 
have  supported  the  man  who  was  nominated.  Do  not 
think  the  '  clique  7  had  anything  to  do  with  making  the 
nomination.  I  think  it  would  have  been  better  for  the 
party  had  they  taken  a  hand  in  it  and  helped  shape 
things  in  a  different  direction.  Had  I  been  at  the  con 
vention,  I  should  have  supported  some  worthy  man  who 
in  my  judgment  would  get  the  most  votes.  Whether 
it  would  have  been  Mason,  Bell,  or  somebody  else  I 
cannot  tell. 

"  I  notice  what  you  say  about  Fogg,  Tappan,  and 
others.  Some  time  before  the  convention  I  had  a  talk 
with  these  gentlemen,  but  did  not  learn  from  any  of 
them  that  they  thought  your  nomination  would  be 
stronger  than  that  of  almost  any  other  Republican. 
Tappan  seemed  always  to  be  friendly  to  McCutchins, 
and  talked  of  him  as  his  candidate.  I  do  not  think  he 
would  have  taken  any  more  active  part  had  you  been 
nominated.  You  speak  of  a  meeting  of  the  '  clique  ' 
at  Concord  before  the  convention,  attended  by  Moore, 


A   DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH  319 

Durkee,  Harriman,  Cheney,  and  others.  I  do  not 
think  any  member  of  the  i  clique '  attended  that  meet 
ing.  I  was  not  invited.  I  had  heard  that  there  was 
such  a  meeting,  and,  while  I  know  that  Mr.  Moore  did 
say  something  in  his  paper  in  favor  of  your  nomina 
tion,  I  learned  at  the  time  that  the  judgment  of  this 
gathering  of  leaders  was  in  favor  of  Prescott  for  gov 
ernor.  One  of  the  gentlemen  present  told  me  it  was 
perfectly  evident  that  the  design  of  the  men  in  getting 
up  this  meeting  was  to  shape  things  for  Fresco  tt's 
benefit.  They  did  not  mean  Mason  at  all. 

"  I  was  raised  an  old-fashioned  Congregationalist, 
and  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  in  foreordination.  In 
looking  back  over  the  past  campaign,  it  rather  strikes 
me  that  it  was  foreordained  from  the  beginning  that 
the  devil  would  triumph  for  a  time  in  New  Hampshire 
in  the  shape  of  the  free  rum  Democracy,  and  I  do  not 
think  anything  could  have  been  done  to  set  aside  the 
decrees  of  the  Almighty.  It  rather  looks  so  to  me  now. 
It  is  possible  that  we  have  done  something  worthy  of 
stripes  and  this  is  our  punishment.  As  to  the  future, 
I  want  to  see  the  State  in  the  hands  of  an  honest  Re 
publican  party  and  am  willing  to  do  all  in  my  power 
and  to  make  any  and  all  concessions  consistent  with 
principle  that  may  be  required.  If  the  success  of  the 
good  cause  can  be  best  secured  by  nominating  the  gen 
tleman  from  Tamworth  for  governor,  he  can  have  my 
hearty  support  both  before  and  after  the  convention, 
but  it  isn't  worth  while  to  look  back  and  fight  our  old 
battles  over  again. 


320  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

"  What  reason  have  you  to  believe  that  your  nom 
ination  would  ensure  the  active  cooperation  of  the  gen 
tlemen  you  have  named,  particularly  of  Mr.  Gove? 
He  seems  to  have  gone  over  into  the  Democratic  camp. 
What  assurance  will  he  give  ?  Heard  has  been  elected 
by  the  Democrats.  What  will  he  do  ?  I  am  in  search 
of  light  and  am  earnestly  seeking  a  way  out  of  our 
present  difficulties.  If  you  can  give  us  any,  I  will 
listen  and  follow.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you 
at  any  time  in  regard  to  these  matters." 

Another  correspondent  of  Rollins  at  this  period,  and 
for  years  after,  was  Alfred  F.  Howard,  of  Portsmouth, 
who  was  formerly  collector  of  customs  at  New  Hamp 
shire's  only  seaport.  Howard  is  a  man  of  genial  per 
sonality,  clear  judgment,  and  resourceful  activity. 
Early  interested  in  politics,  he  has  never  ceased  to  do 
his  part  in  political  campaigns.  For  quite  a  quarter 
of  a  century  his  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  councils 
of  the  Republican  party  of  the  State.  Few  men  of 
New  Hampshire  have  so  large  a  circle  of  devoted 
friends,  and  few  have  had  opportunity  of  declining  so 
many  political  honors.  From  1870  to  Rollins's  retire 
ment  from  politics  Howard  was  devoted  to  his  interests 
from  a  conviction  that  Rollins  was  one  of  the  most  use 
ful  Representatives  New  Hampshire  ever  had  in  Con- 


CHAPTEK    XVIII. 

ROLLINS    AGAIN    AT    THE    HELM 

THE  Democrats  immediately  after  the  election  of 
1874  began  making  preparations  for  taking  charge  of 
the  State  government.  Numerous  conferences  were 
held  to  map  out  the  work  of  the  incoming  legislature. 
From  March  until  June  their  leaders  met  frequently  to 
discuss  the  details  of  their  programme.  These  gather 
ings  were  attended  not  only  by  the  leaders  but  by  many 
others  who  looked  forward  to  holding  the  offices  which 
everybody  recognized  would  be  made  vacant  by  expira 
tion  of  terms  or  by  address  of  the  legislature.  Unlike 
the  election  of  1871,  there  was  no  doubt  of  the  ability 
of  the  party  immediately  to  organize  the  legislature, 
and  much  of  the  work  could  be  anticipated. 

Never  did  a  party  meet  in  legislative  session  with 
fairer  prospects  of  a  long  lease  of  power  and  with 
greater  confidence  in  its  ability  to  maintain  its  hold 
upon  the  State.  Elected  to  the  legislature  were  their 
most  prominent  and  sagacious  leaders.  Albert  K. 
Hatch,  of  Portsmouth,  an  able  lawyer,  technical  in  his 
training  and  practice,  was  made  Speaker  of  the  House, 
while  Harry  Bingham  and  John  G.  Sinclair  were  to 
lead  the  party  on  the  floor,  assisted  by  a  number  of 

321 


322  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

able  lieutenants,  among  whom  were  Isaac  N.  Blodgett, 
of  Franklin,  afterward  chief  justice,  Daniel  Marcy,  of 
Portsmouth,  Alvah  W.  Sulloway  and  Warren  F. 
Daniell,  of  Franklin,  Edwin  C.  Bailey,  of  Hopkinton, 
Joseph  Burrows,  of  Plymouth,  Joseph  Roles,  of  Os- 
sipee,  and  Edwin  P.  Jewell,  of  Laconia. 

The  leaders  on  the  Republican  side  were  James  W. 
Emery,  of  Portsmouth,  Edward  B.  S.  Sanborn,  of 
Franklin,  afterward  a  Democrat,  James  F.  Briggs,  of 
Manchester,  and  Joshua  G.  Hall,  of  Dover,  afterward 
Congressmen,  John  D.  Lyman,  of  Exeter,  and  J. 
Horace  Kent,  of  Portsmouth. 

In  this  legislature  were  two  young  men,  friends  of 
Rollins,  who  were  later  to  come  into  prominence, 
Hiram  A.  Tuttle  and  Henry  E.  Burnham,  the  former 
becoming  governor  in  1891,  and  the  latter  United 
States  Senator  in  1901.  Tuttle  is  a  self-made  man, 
successful  in  business,  public-spirited,  and  an  inspira 
tion  to  every  worthy  cause.  His  election  as  governor 
came  after  one  of  the  closest  contests  in  New  Hamp 
shire  politics,  the  result  not  being  definitely  known 
until  the  legislature  organized.  His  administration 
was  during  a  period  of  warfare  between  railroad  cor 
porations  of  the  State.  Yet,  with  remarkable  tact,  he 
held  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  parties  to  the 
controversy,  while  yielding  none  of  his  convictions. 

Burnham's  career  in  politics,  until  his  election  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  was  a  generous  contribution 
of  his  services  in  campaigns  where  others  were  person 
ally  interested.  An  eloquent  speaker,  he  was  always 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT    THE    HELM  323 

in  demand  upon  the  stump.  Liberal  and  helpful,  hia 
circle  of  friends  constantly  enlarged.  Frequently 
urged  to  become  a  candidate  for  office,  he  persistently 
declined  all  political  honors  until  the  contest  was  made 
in  the  campaign  of  1900  for  the  seat  in  the  Senate  oc 
cupied  by  William  E.  Chandler.  Since  his  election  to 
the  Senate  those  traits  which  have  made  him  pop 
ular  at  home  have  gained  for  him  the  esteem  of  his 
colleagues  in  the  upper  branch  of  Congress. 

The  initiative  in  the  legislature  was  with  the  Demo 
cratic  majority,  and  the  Republican  minority  had 
naught  to  do  but  take  advantage  of  the  mistakes  of 
their  opponents.  Except  on  the  liquor  question,  there 
was  no  change  of  State  policy  proposed  by  the  Demo 
crats.  The  work  of  the  session  early  developed  the 
purposes  of  the  Democratic  leaders  to  make  the  most 
of  their  victory  from  a  partisan  standpoint.  First 
came  the  addresses  for  the  removal  of  Republican  of 
fice-holders,  to  be  followed  by  the  political  gerry 
mander  of  the  State,  the  reorganization  of  the  courts, 
a  fierce  railroad  controversy  arising  out  of  the  con 
solidation  of  the  Nashua  and  Lowell  and  Boston  and 
Lowell  Railroads,  and  an  attempt  to  pass  a  license  law. 
The  session  dragged  along  to  the  last  of  July,  and, 
when  it  had  adjourned,  the  Republicans  had  an  issue 
for  the  next  campaign. 

When  they  came  to  sum  up  their  legislative  work, 
the  Democratic  leaders  had  little  cause  for  congratula 
tion.  The  party  had  pledged  itself  to  substitute 
license  for  prohibition,  but  was  defeated  in  that  prom- 


324  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

ise  by  Democratic  votes.  A  railroad  contest  had  ar 
rayed  in  personal  controversy  their  two  most  conspic 
uous  leaders,  developing  a  rivalry  between  them  boding 
no  good  to  the  party  and  emphasizing  more  clearly  the 
factional  warfare  for  control  of  the  Democratic  or 
ganization.  The  Democrats,  however,  were  in  posses 
sion  of  the  State  offices.  The  greater  part  of  the  ses 
sion,  which  was  longer  than  usual,  was  taken  up  with 
partisan  work.  The  courts  were  reorganized  on  the 
basis  of  having  both  a  trial  and  a  law  court,  a  change 
commendable  in  itself,  but  giving  their  opponents  op 
portunity  to  charge  partisan  interference  with  the 
judiciary.  The  change  was  made  unpopular  because 
it  was  associated  with  a  referee  law  passed  at  that  ses 
sion,  which  failed  to  meet  the  expectations  of  its  au 
thors.  The  State  had  been  redistricted  into  Councillor 
and  Senatorial  districts,  a  gerrymander  which  the  Re 
publicans  caricatured  in  maps  showing  the  grotesque 
shape  of  the  districts.  The  ward  lines  of  several  cities 
were  changed  to  obtain  party  advantage,  arousing  the 
anger  and  activity  of  the  Republicans  in  those  locali 
ties  full  more  than  the  gerrymander  of  the  Councillor 
and  Senatorial  districts.  That  the  Democrats  acted 
otherwise  than  the  Republicans  would  have  done  in 
like  circumstances  cannot  be  charged,  but  there  were 
nearly  two-thirds  of  a  generation  of  voters  then  upon 
the  stage  to  whom  partisan  work  on  so  grand  a  scale 
was  both  a  surprise  and  a  novelty.  Then  the  failure 
of  the  Democratic  party  to  carry  out  its  pledges  made 
its  partisanship  more  pronounced.  In  addition,  a  clean 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE   HELM  325 

sweep  of  officials  and  the  appointment  of  new  men 
afforded  opportunity  for  criticism  of  the  appointees. 
Among  so  many  appointments  it  would  be  surprising 
if  there  were  not  some  incompetent  men.  Again  there 
were  the  usual  disappointments  arising  out  of  the  se 
lections  made  by  the  governor  and  Council,  where  there 
was  earnest  rivalry  for  executive  favor.  Yet,  in  spite 
of  all  these  things,  the  party  in  power  had  the  advan 
tage  of  possession  and  was  really  stronger  than  at  any 
time  since  its  defeat  in  1855.  It  was,  moreover,  soon 
to  be  encouraged  by  the  political  tidal  wave  which 
swept  over  the  country  in  the  fall  of  1874,  giving  the 
Democrats  victory  in  many  Republican  States,  and  se 
curing  to  them  possession  of  the  national  House  of 
Representatives  by  a  two-thirds  majority. 

Both  sides  made  immediate  preparation  for  the  New 
Hampshire  campaign  of  1875.  Besides  the  election 
of  a  governor  and  legislature,  three  Congressmen  were 
to  be  chosen.  Governor  Weston  had  been  four  times 
a  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  twice  elected. 
Besides  having  had  the  compliment  of  two  terms,  al 
though  not  in  succession,  he  was  identified  with  the 
mistakes  of  his  own  administration,  and  there  was  no 
movement  to  present  him  again  as  a  candidate.  The 
farmer  candidate  of  the  preceding  Democratic  conven 
tion,  Hiram  R.  Roberts,  was  now  successfully  pressed 
for  the  nomination.  For  Congressional  nominations 
Samuel  N".  Bell,  of  Manchester,  who  had  defeated  Ste 
vens  in  1871,  and  been  defeated  by  Pike  in  1873,  was 
once  more  nominated  in  the  second  district.  In  the 


326  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

third  district  Henry  O.  Kent  secured  the  nomination, 
defeating  George  F.  Putnam,  chairman  of  the  Demo 
cratic  State  committee,  and  Horatio  Colony,  of  Keene, 
both  of  whom  were  candidates.  Kent's  nomination 
disaffected  some  of  the  old-time  Democrats  who 
thought  he  was  too  recent  a  convert  to  the  principles 
of  the  party.  In  the  first  district  the  Democrats  pre 
sented  as  their  candidate  Frank  Jones,  of  Portsmouth, 
who  was  soon  to  become  the  controlling  force  in  the 
Democratic  party. 

Jones  was  a  rich  brewer  with  many  business  inter 
ests  outside  of  his  brewery.  He  was  a  public-spirited 
citizen  who  dispensed  a  large  income  with  a  liberal 
hand,  contributing  generously  in  political  campaigns. 
Although  of  limited  education,  he  was  shrewd  and 
sagacious  in  his  knowledge  of  men.  Enjoying  the  ex 
citement  of  politics,  he  made  it  his  diversion  from 
business,  and  he  gradually  came  to  be  the  dictator  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  New  Hampshire.  Jones  was 
loyal  to  his  personal  friends,  whom  he  drew  from  both 
political  parties.  He  was  active  and  potential  in  all 
State  affairs,  and  he  took  an  interest  in  all  that  con 
tributed  to  the  welfare  of  New  Hampshire.  His  per 
sonal  influence  in  politics  and  legislation  was  so 
marked  at  one  time  that  his  Kepublican  friends  were 
classified  as  "  Jones's  Republicans."  He  aspired  to 
be  governor  of  his  native  State,  and  his  nomination 
five  years  later  gave  the  Republicans  an  arduous  cam 
paign.  During  the  Cleveland  administration,  Jones 
dispensed  federal  patronage  in  New  Hampshire,  and 


ROLLINS  AGAIN  AT  THE  HELM      327 

it  is  said  was  offered  a  seat  in  Cleveland's  Cabinet. 
In  1896,  he  headed  the  New  Hampshire  delegation  to 
the  Democratic  national  convention  at  Chicago.  Dis 
gusted  with  the  platform  there  adopted,  he  immedi 
ately  bolted  the  nomination  and  openly  supported 
McKinley.  Four  years  later  he  was  a  delegate  at  large 
to  the  Republican  national  convention  at  Philadelphia 
which  renominated  McKinley,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life  gave  earnest  support  to  Republican  policies. 

The  Republican  leaders  were  aware  of  the  magni 
tude  of  the  fight  to  regain  the  State,  and  early  began 
to  discuss  candidates  for  governor  *and  Congress,  and 
to  suggest  Rollins  for  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee.  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee,  December  1, 
1874,  to  issue  the  call  for  the  various  conventions, 
Austin  E.  Pike,  whose  election  to  Congress  two  years 
before  was  secured  by  a  very  small  majority,  promptly 
told  the  committee  that  he  would  relieve  the  party  of 
any  embarrassment  of  renomination  to  which  he  was 
entitled  by  usage  if  any  new  candidate  would  strengthen 
the  ticket.  He  was  followed  by  Luther  McCutchins 
and  Congressman  Small,  who  made  similar  declara 
tions.  This  gave  the  party  opportunity  to  make  nom 
inations  without  regard  to  precedent,  an  encouraging 
sign  in  this  emergency. 

As  to  the  gubernatorial  candidates,  there  were  many 
minds.  Charles  H.  Bell  and  Oilman  Marston,  of 
Exeter,  John  J.  Morrill  and  Benjamin  Cole,  of  Gil 
ford,  Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  of  Epping,  James  W. 
Emery,  of  Portsmouth,  and  others  were  suggested. 


328  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Earnest  appeals  were  made  to  Judge  Charles  Doe,  af 
terward  chief  justice,  to  consent  to  the  use  of  his  name, 
without  avail.  Finally  opinion  settled  upon  Person 
C.  Cheney,  then  mayor  of  Manchester,  who  had  shown 
great  popularity  in  his  two  candidacies  for  that  office. 

Cheney  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  characters  in 
public  life.  His  nomination  for  governor  brought  him 
into  State  prominence,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
he  was  a  leader  in  political  campaigns  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  his  influence  gradually  broadening  into  national 
politics.  He  was  governor  two  terms,  minister  to 
Switzerland,  United  States  Senator  by  appointment, 
and  a  member  of  the  national  Republican  committee 
from  New  Hampshire.  These  positions  came  to  him 
as  the  general  wish  of  his  party  associates  without  his 
seeking.  He  filled  them  all  with  credit  to  himself  and 
his  State.  He  was  intensely  patriotic,  and  gave  freely 
of  his  time  and  money  to  promote  all  public  in 
terests.  Al  large  part  of  the  financial  burden  of  the 
campaign  of  1875  fell  upon  him,  and  he  never  after 
ward  relieved  himself  of  personal  responsibility  for 
the  success  of  the  Republican  ticket.  His  kindly  man 
ner,  his  thoughtfulness  of  others,  and  his  generosity 
were  unfailing.  His  tactfulness  and  the  absence  of 
self-seeking  in  his  leadership  were  factors  in  many  an 
emergency  which  harmonized  differences  and  promoted 
victory. 

The  Republican  convention  was  held  January  12th. 
Oilman  Marston,  of  Exeter,  presided,  and  the  resolu 
tions  which  dealt  largely  with  State  affairs  were  writ- 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE    HELM  329 

ten  and  reported  by  Orrin  C.  Moore.  Before  a  ballot 
was  taken,  McCutchins,  the  candidate  for  governor 
in  the  previous  campaign,  withdrew  his  name.  The 
vote  was  as  follows :  Scattering,  10 ;  Charles  H.  Bell, 
241;  Person  C.  Cheney,  392;  and  Cheney's  nomina 
tion  was  made  unanimous. 

The  Democratic  convention  had  been  held  January 
5th.  The  breach  between  the  two  Democratic  leaders, 
Bingham  and  Sinclair,  which  occurred  in  the  legisla 
ture,  was  still  further  emphasized  in  the  convention. 
Bingham  was  now  fully  allied  with  Pearson  of  the 
People  newspaper  in  opposition  to  railroad  consolida 
tion,  and  they  had  as  their  candidate  for  governor 
Hiram  R.  Roberts,  the  farmer  candidate  of  the  pre 
vious  convention.  Sinclair  favored  the  nomination  of 
Warren  F.  Daniell,  of  Franklin,  a  popular  manufac 
turer,  who  was  by  far  the  most  available  candidate, 
and  whose  selection  at  that  time,  it  was  generally  be 
lieved,  would  result  in  his  election.  At  a  later  date 
Daniell  was  nominated  for  Congress  by  the  Democrats, 
and  elected,  defeating  Orrin  C.  Moore,  when  the  latter 
was  a  candidate  for  reelection.  In  the  southern  part 
of  the  State  there  was  a  considerable  following  for 
Frank  A.  McKean,  then  the  Democratic  mayor  of 
Nashua.  The  ballot  resulted  as  follows:  Scattering, 
21 ;  Frank  A.  McKean,  79  ;  Warren  F.  Daniell,  240  ; 
Hiram  R.  Roberts,  347. 

Roberta's  nomination  was  made  unanimous.  The 
resolutions  of  the  convention  dealt  wholly  with  na 
tional  affairs.  There  was  not  a  word  in  the  platform 


330  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

referring  to  the  State  administration,  or  a  single  ex 
pression  of  praise  in  any  of  the  speeches  made  at  the 
convention  of  the  work  of  the  preceding  legislature. 

For  Congress  the  Republicans  nominated  Charles 
S.  Whitehouse,  of  Rochester,  in  the  first  district, 
Henry  W.  Blair,  of  Plymouth,  in  the  third  district, 
and  renominated  Austin  F.  Pike  in  the  second. 

The  Prohibitionists  had  met  as  usual  in  convention 
earlier  than  the  other  parties,  and  nominated  candi 
dates  for  governor  and  Congress.  Nathaniel  White,  of 
Concord,  was  their  nominee  for  governor.  He  was 
a  self-made  man,  who,  from  driving  a  stage  before 
the  days  of  railroading,  drifted  into  the  express  busi 
ness.  In  this  business  he  accumulated  a  fortune.  He 
was  philanthropic,  and  gave  liberally  to  any  cause  he 
espoused.  He  was  originally  an  Abolition  Whig,  and 
later  a  Republican.  The  cause  of  temperance  had  in 
him  a  strong  advocate.  He  had  not  until  this  year 
been  identified  with  the  Prohibition  movement,  and 
his  nomination  now  gave  no  little  embarrassment  to 
the  Republicans.  The  Prohibitionists  hoped  to  force 
the  Republicans  to  endorse  him,  and  this  idea  had 
some  encouragement  among  active  Republicans.  The 
Prohibitionists  had  polled  twenty-one  hundred  votes 
at  the  last  election.  What  might  they  do  if  White 
were  to  authorize  a  campaign  regardless  of  expense, 
which  his  well-known  generosity  and  earnestness  might 
prompt  him  to  do  ?  While  the  endorsement  of  the  Pro 
hibition  candidate  by  the  Republicans  would  have 
been  suicidal,  it  was  important  that  White's  nomina- 


ROLLINS   AGAIN   AT   THE   HELM  331 

tion  should  be  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  so  prom 
inent  a  citizen.  The  Monitor,  however,  came  out  with 
an  injudicious  personal  attack  upon  White,  which  its 
editor,  William  E.  Stevens,  afterward  retracted.  For 
a  time,  however,  it  gave  great  offence  both  to  White 
and  his  friends,  and  threatened  to  spur  him  into  an 
active  candidacy. 

From  the  very  beginning,  appeals  had  been  made  to 
Rollins  to  return  to  the  State  committee  and  run  the 
campaign.  Editor  Stevens,  in  a  letter  to  him  dated 
November  11,  1874,  said:  "Can't  you  take  charge 
of  the  campaign?  You  can  win  the  fight.  I  fear  no 
one  else  can.  Winning  it,  you  cannot  again  be  cheated 
out  of  your  reward." 

These  appeals  were  supplemented  by  the  offer  of 
Chairman  Hall,  of  the  State  committee,  to  retire  in 
Rollins's  favor.  The  latter,  however,  was  unwilling 
to  supplant  Hall,  whose  work  in  the  previous  campaign 
he  believed  to  have  been  as  efficient  as  any  that  could 
have  been  given.  So  strong,  however,  was  the  opinion 
of  the  party  that  he  should  have  the  direction  of  the 
campaign,  he  did  consent  to  become  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee  and  to  give  his  whole  time  to  the 
canvass.  With  this  understanding  Hall  accepted  the 
chairmanship.  In  a  letter,  dated  January  16th,  Con 
gressman  Pike  wrote  Rollins  as  follows: 

"  I  see  that  you  are  chairman  of  our  executive  com 
mittee.  Good!  What  do  you  advise  to  have  done  to 
throw  the  full  vote  in  our  State  ?  I  certainly  hope  you 
will  be  able  to  give  some  time  to  our  State  this  spring. 


332  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

If  your  hand  is  in  it,  it  will  bring  great  confidence  to 
our  people  and  be  worth  a  thousand  votes  to  us." 

The  Republican  State  committee  had  organized  im 
mediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  State  conven 
tion.  Benjamin  F.  Prescott  was  reflected  secretary, 
and  John  Kimball,  of  Concord,  chosen  treasurer.  The 
executive  committee  consisted  of  Edward  H.  Rollins, 
James  A.  Wood,  of  Acworth,  and  George  C.  Gilmore, 
of  Manchester.  Soon  after  the  State  committee  had 
organized,  the  Monitor  said: 

".It  will  gratify  the  Republicans  of  New  Hamp 
shire  to  know  that  Edward  H.  Rollins  was  elected 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee  and  that  he  has 
accepted  the  position,  and,  in  connection  with  Daniel 
Hall,  chairman  of  the  State  committee,  will  run  the 
present  campaign,  a  fact  which  will  not  be  welcome 
news  to  the  Democracy  of  this  State.  Mr.  Rollins  will 
put  his  best  work  into  this  campaign,  and  the  Goths 
and  Vandals  of  the  Democracy  of  this  State  know  what 
that  forebodes." 

This  was  one  of  the  most  intense  campaigns  that 
ever  occurred  in  ISTew  Hampshire.  Others  have  been 
more  demonstrative  in  campaign  oratory  and  pyro 
technic  display,  but,  for  individual  work  and  per 
sonal  appeal  to  the  voter,  no  campaign  ever  excelled 
it.  The  following  letter  from  Rollins  to  John  Coburn, 
of  Hollis,  is  a  type  of  many  that  he  wrote  to  Republi 
can  local  leaders,  to  be  supplemented  by  others  as  the 
information  called  for  was  supplied. 

"  Yours  is  received.     I  regret  that  the  report  from 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE    HELM  333 

your  town  is  not  more  encouraging.  Our  friends  must 
rouse  themselves  and  save  Hollis.  Give  me  the  names 
of  the  most  active  Kepublicans  in  the  town.  Let  me 
know  who  are  at  work,  and  who  may  be  relied  upon 
to  push  the  campaign  vigorously.  We  can't  afford  to 
spare  Hollis.  The  House  will  be  very  close,  and  we 
shall  have  no  votes  to  waste.  Confer  with  our  friends. 
See  what  can  be  done,  and  let  me  hear  from  you  forth 
with." 

Republicans  were  urged  to  select  their  strongest  can 
didates  for  the  legislature,  as  Rollins  recognized  that 
the  result  of  the  election  would  hinge  on  the  control 
of  that  body.  If  it  was  learned  at  headquarters  that 
any  particular  Republican  could  be  more  easily  elected 
than  another,  Rollins  immediately  communicated  with 
him  urging  him  to  sacrifice  all  personal  interests  by 
becoming  a  candidate,  and  to  all  aspirants  in  that  town 
urging  them  to  postpone  their  ambitions  for  just  this 
one  time  that  there  might  be  no  doubt  about  the  result 
in  the  State.  To  James  W.  Emery,  of  Portsmouth, 
he  wrote  as  follows: 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  what  you  said  to  me  a  few 
days  since  in  my  office,  namely,  that  you  can  be  elected 
Representative  from  Ward  1,  Portsmouth.  Neither 
have  I  forgotten  what  I  said  in  reply  that  we  would 
take  care  of  the  State  if  you  would  do  it.  Now  will 
you  pull  off  your  coat,  wade  in,  and  take  that  ward 
away  from  Frank  Jones  ?  If  you  should  do  this,  you 
would  be  covered  all  over,  forty  feet  thick,  with  glory. 
The  fact  that  you  have  been  Speaker  would  help  you 


334  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

in  the  race,  with  the  probability  of  reelection,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  for  the  credit  of  the  State,  and  for 
the  glory  of  Zion,  Ward  1  would  stand  by  you.  Things 
are  looking  well  in  the  State.  Our  people  were  never 
more  in  earnest  or  more  determined  to  win  the  fight 
than  now,  and,  if  you  will  take  hold  of  this  matter 
earnestly,  it  would  encourage  our  friends  in  all  the 
other  wards  in  Portsmouth,  and  in  all  the  region 
round  where  we  need  every  vote,  to  elect  our  candidate 
for  State  Senator.  Now,  Emery,  '  mount  the  walls, 
blow  the  trumpet  till  your  cheeks  crack/  and  lead  on 
to  victory." 

In  the  same  strain  he  wrote  to  Congressman  Small, 
urging  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  legislature 
from  Newmarket,  and  to  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  who 
would  cease  to  be  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives  as  soon  as  the  Democrats 
attained  power,  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  legisla 
ture  from  Warner.  No  event  however  small,  likely  to 
have  an  influence  on  the  campaign,  escaped  Rollins's 
attention.  It  was  reported  to  him  that  ex-Governor 
Straw  was  to  leave  for  Florida  about  a  week  before 
election  on  account  of  his  health.  He  immediately 
wrote  Cheney: 

"  I  think  it  is  perfectly  wicked  that  Straw  should 
go  away  under  the  circumstances.  You  stood  by  him, 
and  he  should  not  desert  you.  It  looks  like  giving  up 
the  ship  for  him  to  go  away  just  at  this  time.  It  will 
be  only  necessary  for  him  to  remain  here  a  little  more 
than  a  week  longer.  I  want  to  call  your  attention  be- 


ROLLINS   AGAIN   AT   THE   HELM  335 

forehand  to  the  disheartening  effect  which  it  will  have 
all  over  the  State  when  it  is  announced  that  Mr.  Straw 
has  gone  to  Florida,  The  Democrats  will  say  that  he 
has  given  up  the  fight  and  expects  you  to  be  beaten. 
You  must  look  this  thing  squarely  in  the  face.  I  think 
it  is  your  duty  to  state  to  him  frankly  what  must  be 
the  inevitable  influence  of  his  departure  at  this  time." 

Straw  left  for  the  South  before  election,  and  the 
construction  put  upon  his  departure  by  the  Democrats 
was  as  Rollins  predicted.  They  charged  that  he  went 
away  to  avoid  voting  the  Republican  ticket. 

The  Prohibition  vote  was  an  important  factor  in 
this  campaign.  It  had  doubled  in  the  previous  cam 
paign  and  was  at  that  time  nearly  sufficient  to  defeat 
an  election  of  governor  by  the  people.  To  win  some 
of  these  back  to  the  Republican  fold  from  which  most 
of  them  had  departed  was  one  of  the  tasks  before  the 
Republican  State  committee.  White,  the  Prohibition 
candidate  for  governor,  who  was  at  heart  a  loyal  Re 
publican,  was  appealed  to  by  Rollins  not  only  to  make 
his  canvass  perfunctory  but  also  to  aid  the  Republicans 
by  advising  his  Prohibition  friends  to  support  the  Re 
publican  legislative  ticket  in  the  close  wards  and  towns 
of  the  State.  This  with  commendable  self-sacrifice 
he  did,  and  so  successfully,  that  his  vote  at  the  elec 
tion  was  only  about  one-third  that  of  the  Prohibition 
candidate  for  governor  the  year  before,  while  his  per 
sonal  influence  saved  several  close  towns  to  the  Re 
publicans. 

The    campaign    was    aggressively    personal    in    the 


336  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

attacks  made  upon  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
governor,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  these  attacks  cost  him 
any  Democratic  votes.  He  polled  the  full  strength 
of  his  party,  but,  unlike  his  competitor  for  the  nom 
ination,  Warren  F.  Daniell,  he  had  no  personal  fol 
lowing  among  Republicans  to  draw  from.  For  the 
first  time  in  many  years  the  Republicans  made  their 
canvass  largely  on  State  issues,  dwelling  upon  the  in 
creased  cost  of  Democratic  administrations,  the  ex 
traordinary  length  of  the  legislative  session,  the 
character  of  its  work,  and  the  failure  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  redeem  its  pledges.  The  Democrats 
made  vigorous  defence  and  attacked  the  Republicans 
on  their  administration  of  national  affairs,  holding 
up  as  a  spectre  the  probability  of  President  Grant  seek 
ing  a  third  term,  and  receiving  it  at  the  hands  of  his 
party.  The  great  Democratic  victories  throughout  the 
country  the  fall  before  gave  an  impetus  to  the  Demo 
cratic  campaign  that  fully  offset  any  party  disappoint 
ment  at  the  failings  of  the  Democratic  State  adminis 
tration.  Toward  the  close  of  the  canvass,  the  Demo 
cratic  leaders  roused  the  enthusiasm  of  their  followers 
by  the  character  of  the  campaign  speakers  they  brought 
into  the  State.  Among  these  were  Gen.  John  B.  Gor 
don,  of  Georgia,  Lucius  Q.  C.  Lamar,  of  Mississippi, 
Edgar  K.  Apgar,  of  New  York,  John  K.  Tarbox  and 
Augustus  O.  Brewster,  of  Massachusetts.  Their  cam 
paign  was  well-managed  by  George  F.  Putnam,  who 
was  reflected  chairman  of  the  State  committee,  and 
the  morning  of  election  they  were  confident  of  success. 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE    HELM  337 

On  the  Republican  side  the  local  speakers  were  assisted 
by  Congressman  Eugene  Hale,  of  Maine,  Julius  C. 
Burrows,  of  Michigan,  Frederick  Douglass,  of  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.,  and  John  L.  Swift,  of  Boston. 

Not  all  Republicans  of  the  State  were  imbued  with 
Rollins's  confidence  that  New  Hampshire  could  be 
redeemed.  Some  were  for  making  the  best  fight  pos 
sible  to  keep  the  organization  intact  with  a  view  to 
making  the  real  contest  in  the  Presidential  year,  1876. 
This  view  was  shared  by  many  Republicans  outside 
the  State,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
speakers  and  assistance  from  other  States  could  be 
obtained.  Rollins,  in  his  correspondence,  frequently 
referred  to  the  contest  as  "  desperate,"  and  a  large 
share  of  his  time  was  given  to  stimulating  by  letter 
and  by  personal  appeal  the  activity  of  leading  Repub 
licans  in  the  close  towns.  In  the  candidate  for  gov 
ernor  he  had  a  most  efficient  helper  whose  arduous 
labors  contributed  greatly  to  the  result  obtained.  Such 
reports  as  came  from  the  Democrats  reported  them  as 
confident  of  carrying  the  legislature,  the  first  and  third 
Congressional  districts,  with  the  second  district  and  the 
governor  in  doubt.  In  the  first  district  there  was 
strong  suspicion  that  Whitehouse  was  not  being  loyally 
supported  by  some  of  the  leading  Republicans  who 
were  openly  charged  with  promoting  Jones's  election. 
Some  of  these  men  were  Rollins's  personal  friends. 
As  soon  as  these  charges  were  brought  to  his  attention, 
he  wrote  to  one  of  them  as  follows: 

"It  is  reported  to  us  that  Oliver  Wyatt,  Charles  M. 


338  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Murphy,  and  a  great  many  others  of  our  personal 
friends  are  going  to  support  Jones.  Now  it  needs  no 
prophet  to  foretell  what  will  be  the  result  if  this  course 
is  carried  out.  If  these  men  living  in  your  city  vote 
for  Jones,  it  will  compromise  you  beyond  all  question, 
no  matter  whether  you  can  influence  them  or  not. 
Now  you  must  go  to  all  such  men  yourself  at  once, 
lay  the  case  before  them  and  urge  them  to  stand  up 
square  to  the  work.  If  Whitehouse  is  defeated  by 
people  voting  in  this  way,  the  effect  of  it  will  reach 
far  into  the  future  and  come  back  to  plague  the  in 
ventors.  The  report  that  these  men  are  thus  going 
to  vote  is  doing  more  to  lose  us  the  State  than  any 
thing  else.  It  is  demoralizing  our  forces  fearfully, 
and  disaster  may  come  to  us  all  by  reason  of  it.  You 
know  I  am  not  needlessly  alarmed.  I  am  writing,  I 
think,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  situation.  While 
I  write  thus  frankly  for  the  good  of  the  cause,  I  have, 
as  I  think,  a  most  sincere  desire  to  promote  your  per 
sonal  welfare." 

The  election  returns  were  awaited  at  both  party 
headquarters  with  feverish  anxiety.  Before  the  Re 
publican  State  committee  adjourned  for  the  night  of 
election,  it  was  apparent  that  there  was  no  choice 
of  governor  by  the  people,  and  that  the  Republicans 
had  carried  the  legislature.  The  Congressional  dis 
tricts  remained  in  doubt  for  several  days.  When  the 
complete  returns  were  received,  they  showed  the  elec 
tion  of  Jones  and  Bell,  Democrats,  in  the  first  and 
second  districts,  and  Blair,  Republican,  in  the  third. 


EOLLINS   AGAIN   AT   THE   HELM  339 

The  vote  for  governor  was :  Scattering,  19  ;  Nathaniel 
White,  777;  Hiram  E.  Eoberts,  39,121;  Person  C. 
Cheney,  39,293. 

It  was  a  great  victory  considering  all  the  circum 
stances  surrounding  the  contest.  That  it  was  due  to 
Rollins's  genius  in  marshalling  the  party  is  conceded 
by  all  who  had  part  in  the  campaign.  The  chairman 
of  the  committee,  Daniel  Hall,  whose  work  in  this 
canvass  is  deserving  of  the  highest  praise,  with  entire 
self-abnegation  pays  this  tribute  to  Rollins's  manage 
ment  in  a  letter  dated  October  12,  1903. 

"  My  first  campaign  as  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  committee  was  in  1874  and  was  lost.  The  Demo 
crats  carried  the  State  and  put  us  in  a  very  bad  posi 
tion  for  the  contest  of  1875.  I  think  it  was  the  most 
desperate  fight  we  ever  had  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
Rollins  was  the  Ajax  Telamon  of  the  struggle.  All 
his  political  genius,  energy,  and  resource  as  a  cam 
paigner  were  freely  given,  and  for  whatever  was 
achieved  in  the  campaigns  of  1875  and  1876  he  is 
entitled  to  more  credit  than  anybody  else.  As  chair 
man  of  the  committee,  I  was  in  the  closest  intimacy 
with  him,  and  had  all  the  benefit  of  his  experience, 
skill,  advice,  and  guidance.  No  extravagance  of  praise 
or  eulogy  can  overstate  the  services  of  Edward  H.  Rol 
lins  to  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire  and 
the  Union." 

The  campaign  did  not  close  with  the  election.  The 
official  returns  showed  that  the  Republicans  had  at 
least  nine  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 


340  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

that  five  Republican  and  five  Democratic  Senators  had 
been  elected,  and  that  in  two  districts,  the  second  and 
fourth,  there  was  no  choice.  The  Democrats  were  loth 
to  concede  the  State,  and  for  several  weeks  vague 
rumors  were  current  that  a  sufficient  number  of  con 
tests  would  be  made  over  the  certificates  issued  to 
Republican  candidates  for  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  to  enable  the  Democratic  clerk  of  the  previous 
legislature,  who  made  up  the  roll  of  the  incoming 
legislature,  to  put  a  majority  of  Democrats  on  that 
roll. 

The  Republican  suspicions  up  to  this  point  con 
cerned  the  organization  of  the  House,  but  on  April 
21st,  the  Monitor  refers  to  a  story  appearing  in  an 
associated  press  despatch  from  Manchester  to  the  Bos 
ton  papers  that  the  vote  of  Natt  Head,  the  Republican 
candidate  for  State  Senator  in  District  No.  2,  is  to 
be  rejected  by  the  governor  and  council  because  his  real 
name  is  Nathaniel  and  not  Natt,  and  that  the  vote  for 
the  Prohibition  candidate  for  Senator  in  District  No. 
4,  Arthur  Deering,  is  for  an  ineligible  candidate  and 
not  to  be  counted.  This  was  the  first  intimation  the 
Republicans  had  of  the  Democratic  programme  to  con 
trol  the  Senate,  and  which  was  afterward  known  as 
"  The  Senate  Steal  of  New  Hampshire."  The  votes 
in  these  two  Senatorial  districts,  as  shown  by  the  offi 
cial  returns,  were  as  follows: 

District  No.  2:  James  Priest,  3,834;  Natt  Head, 
3,771 ;  Joshua  C.  Merrill,  95 ;  Scattering,  6. 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE    HELM  341 

District  No.  4:  John  Proctor,  3,495;  George  E. 
Todd,  3,454;  Arthur  Deering,  46;  Scattering,  18. 

The  ground  taken  by  the  Democrats  for  rejecting 
the  vote  cast  for  ~Na.it  Head  was  a  statute  of  the  State 
which  read  as  follows: 

"  The  full  Christian  and  surname  of  every  person 
voted  for  with  the  initial  letter  or  letters  of  the  middle 
name  and  the  usual  abbreviations  for  junior,  second, 
third,  and  the  like  shall  be  written  or  printed  upon 
every  ballot,  and  every  ballot  not  thus  prepared  and 
cast  shall  be  regarded  as  a  blank  and  not  counted." 

The  basis  for  rejecting  the  votes  cast  for  Arthur 
Deering  in  the  fourth  district  was  that  he  had  not  been 
a  continuous  resident  of  the  State  for  seven  years  as 
provided  by  the  State  constitution  for  State  Senators, 
and  therefore  ineligible  as  a  candidate.  Rejecting  the 
votes  for  "Na.it  Head  in  the  second,  and  Arthur  Deering 
in  the  fourth,  would  give  James  Priest  and  John  Proc 
tor,  the  Democratic  candidates,  a  majority  in  each 
district. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  governor  and  Council  to  can 
vass  the  returns  from  the  towns  and  issue  certificates 
to  those  candidates  for  Senator  who  appeared  on  the 
face  of  the  returns  to  be  elected.  Governor  Weston 
and  the  Democratic  majority  of  the  Council  would 
have  this  duty  to  perform. 

The  report  that  the  Democratic  leaders  would  urge 
the  governor  and  Council  to  reject  the  votes  cast  for 
Natt  Head  and  Arthur  Deering  was  immediately 
denounced  by  the  Republicans  as  an  outrage  and  a 


342  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

usurpation.  They  took  the  ground  that  the  governor 
and  Council  in  canvassing  election  returns  were  merely 
clothed  with  ministerial  duties  and  must  issue  certifi 
cates  to  those  only  who  appeared  on  the  face  of  the 
returns  to  be  elected.  To  the  Democrats  the  report 
came  as  an  escape  from  total  defeat  in  the  State  elec 
tion,  for,  if  the  Senate  remained  Democratic,  there 
could  be  no  removal  of  Democratic  office-holders,  no 
redistricting  of  the  State,  and  no  change  of  the  ward 
lines  in  cities.  Nothing  in  the  canvass  for  votes  at  the 
election  equalled  in  intensity  and  feeling  the  campaign 
which  was  now  made  to  secure  results,  and  interest 
in  the  outcome  soon  extended  beyond  State  lines.  A 
dual  State  government  seemed  imminent,  for  the  Dem 
ocrats  were  determined  that  these  votes  should  be 
rejected,  and  the  Republicans  were  equally  determined 
not  to  submit  to  what  they  considered  a  usurpation 
by  the  governor  and  Council. 

Rollins  had  been  active  and  vigilant  in  seeing  that 
the  town  clerks  issued  certificates  to  the  Republican 
Representatives-elect,  and  in  stirring  up  the  Repub 
lican  leaders  to  stand  firm  in  demanding  their  rights 
so  long  as  there  was  suspicion  of  the  Democrats  at 
tempting  to  organize  the  House.  Now  his  attention 
was  turned  to  the  Senate,  and  he  outlined  to  Hall  the 
course  to  be  followed  by  the  Republicans  in  resist 
ing  the  Democratic  programme.  In  a  letter  to  him, 
May  8th,  he  said: 

"  Charles  P.  Sanborn  was  here  and  reports  that  the 
impression  is  gaining  ground  that  the  Democrats  in- 


ROLLINS   AGAIN   AT   THE   HELM  343 

tend  to  push  through  their  scheme  of  villainy.  In  fact, 
I  think  there  is  no  doubt  about  it,  and  we  must  be 
prepared  for  them.  I  think  you  had  better  see  Doe 
and  have  him  prepare  a  proper  protest  for  Councillor 
Lovell  to  present  and  have  spread  upon  the  records  if 
they  attempt  this  thing.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost, 
and  Doe  can  present  the  case  the  best  of  any  man  in 
the  State,  and  this  protest  will  form  the  basis  of  our 
discussion  hereafter.  It  is  evident  that  we  have  got 
to  make  a  fight,  and  we  must  start  right.  All  may 
depend  upon  that.  I  think  you  should  also  write  to 
General  Marston  and  have  him  present,  and  secure  all 
the  legal  force  advisable  and  have  them  at  Concord 
on  Wednesday  night.  I  think  you  had  better  go  to 
Concord  Monday  and  remain  there  to  engineer  mat 
ters.  Sanborn  will  be  there  and,  of  course,  Tappan. 
See  if  Doe  does  not  advise  that  Lovell  demand  of  the 
governor  and  Council  that  the  question  be  submitted 
to  the  court.'7 

Judge  Doe's  views  of  the  situation,  and  the  legal 
course  to  be  pursued,  are  set  forth  in  two  letters  of  Hall 
to  Rollins.  In  the  first  he  says : 

"  I  called  on  Doe  yesterday.  He  is  all  right  in 
sentiment,  agrees  with  us  on  all  the  legal  questions, 
and  is  in  favor  of  maintaining  our  rights  at  every 
hazard,  even  coolly  contemplates  a  double-headed  State 
government.  He  don't  want  to  be  chief  justice,  says 
he  won't  and  don't  think  it  best  to  disturb  the  courts. 
He  is  in  favor  of  Ordway  for  Speaker,  and  of  decisive 


344  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

action  in  every  respect.  Did  you  know  Grant  was 
considering  his  name  for  Attorney-General  ?  " 

After  the  decision  of  the  governor  and  Council, 
Hall  wrote  Rollins :  "  Doe  is  of  opinion  that  the  con 
vention  may  ascertain  vacancies  for  themselves  and 
legally  fill  them.  This  is  very  important.  If  it  be  so, 
we  have  only  to  carry  the  House  to  march  straight  to 
the  control  of  the  Senate." 

Charles  Doe  was  not  then  on  the  bench,  having  been 
legislated  off  by  the  Democratic  legislature  of  1874. 
He  was  one  of  the  ablest  jurists  the  State  ever  pro 
duced,  and  some  of  his  opinions  after  he  became  chief 
justice,  in  1876,  obtained  a  world-wide  reputation.  He 
simplified  the  practice  of  the  New  Hampshire  courts, 
sweeping  ruthlessly  aside  all  technicalities  in  his  en 
deavor  to  do  justice  to  litigants.  His  contempt  for 
formalities  was  pronounced,  whether  in  court  or 
at  hearings  outside,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  occur 
rence  for  him  to  give  audience  to  counsel,  and  hear 
petitions  wherever  he  happened  to  be  found.  Disclaim 
ing  all  interest  or  even  knowledge  in  public  affairs 
except  as  they  concerned  the  court,  he,  nevertheless, 
managed  to  convey  his  views  on  important  public  meas 
ures  to  the  political  leaders  of  the  State.  During  his 
life  he  wielded  a  great  influence  in  New  Hampshire. 
His  friendship  for  Rollins  dated  from  their  boyhood 
days,  and  he  watched  with  interest  Rollins's  rise  in 
political  life.  Many  efforts  were  made  at  various 
times  to  induce  him  to  accept  nominations  for  polit 
ical  office,  but  without  avail.  During  President 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE    HELM  345 

Arthur's  administration  he  was  urged  for  appointment 
to  the  United  States  Supreme  Bench,  a  position  for 
which  he  was  preeminently  fitted. 

When  it  was  necessary  for  some  one  to  take  responsi 
bility,  Rollins  did  not  hesitate  to  take  it,  and,  regard 
less  of  the  indifference  or  weakness  of  others,  his  atti 
tude  always  remained  firm.  Writing  Hall,  May  llth, 
he  said :  "  Yours  of  the  9th  inst.  came  to  hand  last 
evening.  I  sympathize  with  you  fully  in  your  troubles. 
The  fact  is,  a  great  many  of  the  Republicans  in  ISTew 
Hampshire  do  nothing  but  leave  the  work  for  a  few 
men.  It  is  getting  to  be  a  burden  too  grievous  to  be 
borne.  You  must  stir  them  up.  Write  to  such  lawyers 
as  you  want  and  can  reach  by  letter,  and  telegraph 
others.  Take  the  full  responsibility  yourself.  Have 
everybody  there  and  we  will  see  you  through  all  right. 
I  will  stand  by  you  to  the  end.  I  am  satisfied  the 
Democrats  mean  mischief.  Good  pluck  must  be  shown, 
and  a  bold  front,  leaving  nothing  to  chance.  Wish  I 
could  be  with  you.  Doe  is  a  trump.  He  has  done  a 
big  thing." 

Both  the  Republican  and  Democratic  State  commit 
tees  were  in  frequent  consultation,  and  there  were 
almost  daily  conferences  of  leading  Republicans  with 
Rollins  in  Boston.  Able  counsel  was  secured  on  both 
sides.  The  governor  and  Council  met  Thursday,  May 
12th,  to  canvass  the  vote  for  Senators.  After  the  argu 
ments  had  been  made,  the  Republican  Councillor 
moved  that  the  questions  raised  be  referred  to  the 
Supreme  Court  for  an  opinion.  This  motion  was 


346  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

amended  by  a  proviso  that  such  opinion  must  be 
obtained  before  the  following  Monday  at  3  p.  M.  ; 
otherwise  the  governor  was  instructed  to  get  such  ad 
vice  as  the  circumstances  might  admit.  As  amended 
this  motion  was  passed  by  the  vote  of  the  four  Demo 
cratic  Councillors.  Although  the  Supreme  Court  was 
at  that  time  composed  of  two  Democrats  and  one 
Republican,  the  Republicans  felt  confident  that  its 
opinion,  if  given,  would  sustain  their  position  that  the 
governor  and  Council  had  merely  ministerial  duties  to 
perform,  and  had  no  right  to  pass  upon  the  eligibility 
of  candidates  for  Senators. 

Governor  Weston  personally  consulted  the  chief  jus 
tice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  took  the  position  that 
it  was  impracticable  to  convene  the  court  and  give  an 
opinion  in  the  limited  time  between  Friday  morning 
and  Monday  afternoon.  Therefore,  when  the  gov 
ernor  and  Council  again  convened,  they  proceeded  to 
canvass  the  votes,  rejecting  those  cast  for  Natt  Head 
and  Arthur  Deering,  and  issuing  certificates  of  elec 
tion  to  James  Priest  and  John  Proctor.  Seven  Demo 
crats  and  five  Republicans  now  held  certificates  of 
election  as  Senators,  giving  the  Democrats  control  of 
the  State  Senate.  The  contest,  however,  was  not 
ended.  If  the  Republicans  controlled  the  House,  that 
body  could  refuse  to  recognize  the  Democratic  Senate. 
On  the  other  hand,  Governor  Weston  would  continue 
in  the  executive  chair  until  the  legislature  fully  organ 
ized  and  chose  his  successor.  Supported  by  Judge 
Doe's  opinion,  Rollins,  Chandler,  and  others  were  in 


ROLLINS   AGAIN   AT    THE   HELM  347 

favor  of  having  the  five  Republican  Senators  holding 
certificates  of  election  meet  with  the  Republican  House 
as  a  convention,  canvass  the  votes  for  State  Senators, 
declare  no  election  in  the  two  disputed  districts  as 
appeared  on  the  face  of  the  returns,  and  fill  the  vacan 
cies  by  the  election  of  Head  and  Todd.  If  this  course 
had  been  followed,  a  dual  State  government  would,  of 
course,  have  been  the  outcome  of  such  action.  In  addi 
tion  there  was  difficulty  in  carrying  out  this  pro 
gramme,  as  the  election  returns  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  Democratic  Secretary  of  State. 

Party  interest  increased  as  the  day  for  the  assem 
bling  of  the  legislature  approached.  Each  party  deter 
mined  to  maintain  its  position  regardless  of  conse 
quences.  Newspaper  utterances  were  vehement  and 
sometimes  incendiary.  It  was  asserted  on  the  Demo 
cratic  side  that  Governor  Weston  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  State  militia  would  protect  the  Democratic 
seven  in  their  possession  of  the  Senate  Chamber.  By 
the  Republicans  it  was  contemplated  that  it  might  be 
necessary  to  appeal  to  President  Grant  to  recognize 
their  organization  as  the  legal  State  government.  Be 
tween  the  time  of  the  issuing  of  the  certificates  by  the 
governor  and  Council,  and  the  meeting  of  the  legisla 
ture,  the  leaders  of  both  parties  were  in  an  anxious 
frame  of  mind.  Each  side  waited  for  the  other,  but 
the  legislature  met  without  any  act  on  the  part  of 
either  that  would  precipitate  violence. 

At  the  Republican  legislative  caucus,  Charles  P, 
Sanborn,  of  Concord,  was  nominated  for  Speaker  of 


348  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  House,  defeating  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway  and  John 
D.  Lyman,  of  Exeter,  who  were  also  candidates.  San- 
born  became  the  most  popular  Speaker  who  ever  pre 
sided  over  a  ]STew  Hampshire  legislature,  although  his 
tenure  of  office  was  in  a  stormy  partisan  period.  He 
had  a  keen  mind,  a  pleasing  address,  great  tact,  and 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  practice. 
Nature  had  generously  endowed  him,  and,  had  he  in 
clined,  he  might  have  led  at  the  bar  or  in  politics.  His 
political  ambition,  however,  did  not  extend  beyond 
this  position,  which  he  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
political  parties. 

The  Republican  Senatorial  caucus,  which  included 
Head  and  Todd,  who  had  not  received  certificates  of 
membership,  nominated  George  H.  Stowell,  of  Clare- 
mont,  for  President  of  the  Senate.  Stowell  is  one  of 
the  "  Old  Guard,"  who  is  still  active  and  influential 
in  the  politics  of  the  State.  The  Democrats  renomi- 
nated  Albert  E.  Hatch  as  Speaker  of  the  House,  and 
the  seven  Democrats  with  Senatorial  certificates  nomi 
nated  John  W.  Sanborn,  of  Wakefield,  for  president  of 
that  body. 

John  W.  Sanborn,  or  "  Uncle  John,"  as  he  was 
familiarly  known  in  the  State,  was  a  born  leader  of 
men,  and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  his 
influence  was  marked  in  the  politics  of  New  Hamp 
shire.  From  being  superintendent  of  the  Eastern 
Railroad  of  New  Hampshire  he  grew  to  be  the  legis- 
Jative  agent,  first,  of  that  road,  and  later,  of  the  con 
solidated  Boston  and  Maine.  He  entered  politics  as 


ROLLINS  AGAIN  AT  THE  HELM      349 

a  Democrat,  and  so  continued  until  1896,  when  he 
became  a  Republican.  In  protecting  the  railroad 
interests  with  which  he  was  connected  he  gradually 
assumed  the  direction  of  the  Democratic  party  by  his 
influence  over  its  leaders.  Later  his  power  was  felt  in 
Republican  councils,  and  for  a  time  his  advice  was 
potentially  and  impartially  bestowed  upon  both.  He 
was  a  most  prominent  figure  at  every  political  conven 
tion  assembled  at  the  capital,  and  no  legislative  ses 
sion  was  complete  without  his  presence.  He  was  a 
born  diplomat,  and  he  maintained  his  prestige  until 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death.  One  source  of  his 
strength  was  the  fact  that  he  never  used  his  power  for 
his  own  personal  gain.  The  interest  of  the  railroad 
with  which  he  was  allied  was  always  the  primary  con 
sideration  of  all  his  actions. 

The  five  Democratic  Senators  with  Priest  and  Proc 
tor  organized  a  Senate  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  voting 
for  John  W.  Sanborn  as  president,  who  was  declared 
elected.  The  five  Republican  Senators  protested,  and 
refused  to  vote.  The  Democrats  then  completed  their 
organization,  and  sent  a  notification  to  the  House, 
which  the  latter  body  ignored.  The  five  Republican 
Senators  withdrew,  and,  with  Head  and  Todd,  organ 
ized  a  Senate,  electing  Senator  Stowell  as  president. 
This  body  notified  the  House  of  its  organization  as  a 
Senate,  which  notification  the  House  received.  Im 
mediately  after  the  organization  of  the  House  a  reso 
lution  was  introduced  asking  the  opinion  of  the  court 


350  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

on  the  disputed  questions.  This  resolution  was  passed 
after  some  debate.  The  Democratic  Senators  also  pre 
sented  the  question  in  dispute  to  the  court,  but  in  an 
other  form.  .  Both  parties  then  rested  on  their  arms 
awaiting  the  opinion  of  the  court.  This  opinion  came 
the  following  week  in  communications  addressed  to 
both  the  House  and  the  Democratic  Senate,  and  signed 
by  all  the  judges.  In  its  communication  to  the  Senate, 
the  court  said: 

"  We  have,  in  reply  to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  declined  to  express  our  opinion  upon 
a  past  and  completed  act  of  the  executive  department 
of  the  government,  performed  in  the  discharge  of  a 
duty  expressly  required  of  that  department  by  the  con 
stitution,  upon  the  ground  that  such  opinion,  if  given, 
would  have  no  greater  weight  or  authority  than  a 
criticism  of  one  branch  of  the  government  upon  the 
conduct  of  another  coordinate  branch,  and  such  official 
act  on  the  part  of  the  justices  of  this  court  would  not 
be  consistent  with  the  grave  duties  imposed  upon  them 
by  the  constitution  of  the  State.'7 

The  position  taken  by  the  court  was  a  surprise  to 
both  sides,  but  was  accepted  by  the  Democrats  as  a 
confirmation  of  their  position.  It  was  bitterly  de 
nounced  by  the  Republicans  as  a,  cowardly  evasion  of 
duties  imposed  upon  the  court  by  the  constitution,  and 
was  regarded  by  them  as  an  additional  justification  for 
reorganizing  the  courts  when  they  again  obtained 
power.  There  was  nothing,  however,  for  the  Republi- 


ROLLINS   AGAIN    AT   THE   HELM  351 

cans  to  do  but  submit,  unless  they  were  prepared  to 
resort  to  arbitrary  proceedings  which,  would  undoubt 
edly  result  in  the  establishment  of  a  dual  State  gov 
ernment. 


CHAPTEE    XIX. 


THE  campaign  of  1876  began  while  the  legislature 
of  1875  was  in  session.  To  add  to  its  interest,  there 
was  a  United  States  Senator  to  be  elected  from  New 
Hampshire  to  succeed  Aaron  H.  Cragin,  whose  term 
expired  with  the  sitting  Congress.  The  party  carry 
ing  the  legislature  of  1876  would  secure  this  prize. 
Both  parties,  therefore,  were  stimulated  to  put  forth 
their  best  efforts,  and  the  leaders  were  early  at  work 
organizing  their  forces  for  the  conflict.  Daniel  Hall, 
the  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  committee,  asked 
to  be  relieved  of  the  burden  of  another  campaign,  and 
desired  to  resign  at  once  so  that  a  new  chairman  might 
immediately  begin  his  labors.  The  duties  of  the  chair 
man  had  continued  almost  without  interruption  for 
nearly  a  year,  and  Hall  pleaded  that  his  private 
affairs  needed  his  attention.  Rollins  protested,  and 
finally  secured  from  him  consent  to  serve  through 
another  campaign. 

Hall  was  well  equipped  for  the  position,  although 
inclined  to  depreciate  his  own  abilities.  He  is  a 
man  of  scholarly  tastes,  and  a  ready  and  graceful 
writer.  His  public  addresses  and  writings  show 

362 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED   STATES   SENATOR     353 

care  in  preparation  and  extensive  information.  He 
is  recognized  as  a  man  of  marked  ability,  and  at  one 
time  he  aspired  to  a  public  career,  being  a  candidate 
for  Congress  in  the  first  district.  Had  he  succeeded 
in  his  ambition,  the  State  "would  have  had  reason  to 
be  proud  of  him,  but  he  had  no  taste  for  the  prelimi 
nary  canvassing  so  essential  where  rival  ambitions  con 
flict.  He  was  Rollins' s  friend,  and  was  appointed 
naval  officer  of  customs  at  Boston  for  two  terms  while 
Rollins  was  United  States  Senator.  It  was  at  the 
time  of  his  first  appointment  that  the  final  contest 
was  made  between  the  JSTew  Hampshire  and  Massa 
chusetts  delegations  in  Congress  for  the  control  of 
this  office.  The  result  was  that  this  position  has  con 
tinued  ever  since  as  a  part  of  the  federal  patronage 
of  New  Hampshire. 

The  story  of  the  campaign  of  1876  is  but  a  repeti 
tion  of  that  of  the  previous  year.  There  was  the  same 
systematic  work  and  the  same  anxiety  over  the  out 
come.  The  Republican  party,  however,  was  in  a  better 
state  of  discipline,  and  its  members  eager  for  the  con 
test.  The  party  was  determined  to  win  such  a  victory 
that  no  disputed  question  should  imperil  the  result. 
To  this  end  the  most  skilful  leadership  was  demanded. 
Jealousies  were  put  aside,  and  all  united  in  asking 
Rollins  to  take  the  supervising  direction  of  the  cam 
paign. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  January 
5,  1876.  Orrin  C.  Moore  presided,  and  delivered  one 
of  his  masterly  addresses,  which  plainly  set  forth  the 


354 


LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 


issues  of  the  campaign.  Daniel  Hall  reported  the  reso 
lutions,  which,  after  dealing  with  national  affairs, 
arraigned  Governor  Weston  and  his  Council,  charging 
them  with  an  open,  palpable  usurpation  of  power,  and 
as  guilty  of  an  overt  encroachment  of  the  executive 
department  upon  the  legislative  branch  of  the  govern 
ment,  anoT  a  deliberate  subversion  of  the  electoral 
rights  of  the  qualified  voters  of  the  State.  Governor 
Cheney  was  renominated  by  acclamation. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  met  January  12, 
1876,  William  W.  Bailey,  of  Nashua,  presiding. 
Hiram  R.  Roberts  having  declined  a  renomination 
for  governor,  Daniel  Marcy,  of  Portsmouth,  was  nom 
inated.  The  resolutions  were  reported  by  William 
Butterfield,  of  Concord,  former  editor  of  the  Patriot, 
a  virile  writer,  whose  pen  for  years  had  been  at  the 
service  of  the  Democratic  party.  Butterfield  never 
made  any  half-hearted  defence  of  his  party  and  its 
principles.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and 
aggressive  action.  Through  his  loyalty  to  Pierce' s  suc 
cessors  in  control  of  the  party,  he  suffered  both  finan 
cially  and  in  prestige  after  the  Pearson  family  estab 
lished  a  rival  newspaper  at  the  capital.  He  was  one 
term  Secretary  of  State,  being  elected  when  the  Demo 
crats  secured  control  in  1874.  His  resolutions  on 
State  matters  boldly  met  the  challenge  of  the  Republi 
can  party,  and  both  defended  the  Democratic  posi 
tion  and  denounced  that  of  the  Republicans. 

The  Prohibition  party  still  kept  up  its  organization, 
although  attracting  little  interest.  Asa  S.  Kendall,  of 


ELECTION    AS   UNITED    STATES   SENATOR     355 

Swanzey,  was  nominated  for  governor  at  a  convention 
held  November  10,  1875. 

The  campaign  for  the  most  part  was  conducted  along 
the  lines  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Republican  and  Dem 
ocratic  parties  on  State  matters.  The  Democrats  were 
in  control  of  .the  lower  branch  of  Congress,  and  the 
session  had  hardly  begun  before  occurred  that  cele 
brated  debate  between  Benjamin  H.  Hill,  of  Georgia, 
and  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  regarding  the  conduct 
of  the  Civil  War  and  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of 
war  by  the  Union  and  Confederate  forces.  Marcy,  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  governor,  had  been  in  Con 
gress  during  the  Civil  War,  and  his  record  there  was 
made  a  prominent  part  of  the  canvass.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Democrats  were  encouraged  just  before  elec 
tion  by  the  exposure  and  impeachment  of  William  W. 
Belknap,  Secretary  of  War,  for  his  complicity  in  grave 
irregularities  in  that  department.  Fears  were  enter 
tained  by  the  Republican  leaders  of  its  effect  upon  the 
New  Hampshire  election.  At  any  other  time,  it  would 
have  cost  the  Republican  party  some  votes,  but,  over 
shadowing  the  intensity  of  national  issues,  was  the 
feeling  of  the  Republicans  that  the  action  of  Governor 
Weston  and  his  Council  must  be  rebuked,  and  this  was 
the  controlling  factor  in  the  campaign,  which  resulted 
in  the  reelection  of  Governor  Cheney  by  the  people, 
and  the  control  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature  by 
the  Republicans.  The  vote  for  governor  was:  Scat 
tering,  14;  Asa  S.  Kendall,  411;  Daniel  Marcy, 
38,133 ;  Person  C.  Cheney,  41,761. 


356  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

The  Democrats  held  but  few  political  rallies  in  this 
campaign,  and  had  no  outside  speakers.  The  Republi 
cans  were  assisted  by  William  P.  Erye  and  Eugene 
Hale,  of  Maine,  Richard  Oglesby,  of  Illinois,  James 
A  Garfield  and  Edward  E.  ISToyes,  of  Ohio,  Julius  C. 
Burrows  and  E.  W.  Andrews,  of  Michigan,  A.  E. 
King,  of  Maryland,  Henry  O.  Pratt,  of  Iowa,  and  S. 
W.  Tenney,  of  New  York. 

After  election,  the  Monitor  said  of  Rollins:  "  With 
out  a  superior  anywhere  as  an  organizer  and  leader, 
he  has,  as  the  head  of  the  executive  committee,  put  all 
his  energies,  all  his  thoughts,  into  this  campaign  from 
the  outset.  Indeed  he  may  be  said  to  have  kept  up  the 
fight  continuously  for  two  years.  The  outrage  of  last 
June,  which  robbed  him  of  a  portion  of  his  well-earned 
victory,  did  not  discourage  him.  On  the  contrary,  it 
gave  him  new  strength,  new  determination,  and  he  has 
from  that  hour  to  the  present  brought  all  his  splendid 
powers  of  organization,  his  foresight,  his  aggressive 
habit,  his  pluck,  and  his  great  experience  to  bear  on 
the  enemy,  and  the  Portsmouth  Chronicle  is  right 
when  it  says,  i  If  any  feeling  of  gratitude  for  the 
splendid  victory  is  uppermost  in  Republican  hearts 
to-day,  it  is  due  him  for  his  zealous  persistence  and 
untiring  efforts  to  accomplish  the  grand  results.' ' 

Not  all  the  Republican  leaders  felt  the  same  as  edi 
tor  William  E.  Stevens,  of  the  Monitor,,  in  regard  to 
the  credit  for  the  victory.  Orrin  C.  Moore,  in  his 
newspaper,  the  Nashua  Telegraph,  said :  "  No  one  man 
and  no  set  of  men  won  the  victory.  We  doubt  if  any 


ELECTION   AS  UNITED   STATES   SENATOR      357 

one  man  or  set  of  men  was  essential  to  its  achieve 
ment,  although,  as  we  have  heretofore  said,  individ 
uals  performed  signal,  laborious,  and  valuable  service. " 

The  Manchester  Mirror  said :  "  Great  credit  is  due 
to  Daniel  Hall,  the  efficient,  laborious,  and  untiring 
chairman  of  the  State  committee,  to  Edward  H.  Rol 
lins,  the  skilful  and  active  organizer,  and  to  all  their 
willing  helpers  in  the  State  and  county  organizations," 
etc. ;  but  that  paper  placed  "  first  and  foremost,"  Per 
son  C.  Cheney,  the  candidate  for  governor,  and  added : 
"  It  is  no  disparagement  to  any  other  to  say  of  him 
that  he  eclipsed  any  leader  we  ever  had  in  devotion 
to  the  cause,  in  cheerfulness,  courage,  in  the  belief  that 
right  would  triumph,  and  in  the  power  of  imparting 
the  same  spirit  to  his  followers." 

The  Democratic  newspapers,  while  crediting  Rollins 
with  the  generalship  of  the  victory,  fostered  all  efforts 
to  defeat  his  candidacy  for  the  Senate.  If  he  were 
defeated  in  his  ambition  at  this  time,  the  Democratic 
party  hoped  for  his  elimination  from  the  politics  of 
the  State. 

The  legislature  chosen  at  this  election  containe4  a 
considerable  number  of  prominent  Republicans  of  the 
State.  Three  members  were  candidates  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  Aaron  F.  Stevens  and  Orrin  C.  Moore, 
of  Nashua,  and  Levi  Barton,  of  Newport.  Gilman 
Marston  was  returned  from  Exeter,  but  he  does  not 
appear  to  have  sought  at  this  time  the  Senatorial 
nomination.  One  of  his  colleagues  from  the  town  of 
Exeter,  Horace  S.  Cummings,  was  a  pronounced  cham- 


358  LIFE   OF   EDWAIID    H.    ROLLINS 

pion  of  Rollins.  Cummings  made  a  marked  impres 
sion  upon  the  legislature,  and,  had  he  remained  in  the 
State,  would  have  attained  to  political  leadership.  The 
city  of  Manchester  sent  to  the  House  David  Cross, 
then  in  the  prime  of  his  activity,  Elijah  M.  ToplifT, 
later  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  committee, 
William  P.  Newell,  Nathan  P.  Hunt,  and  George  C. 
Gilmore,  all  leading  and  influential  men.  The  Con 
cord  delegation,  which  was  a  unit  for  Rollins,  was  ex 
ceptionally  strong.  Besides  the  Speaker  of  the  House, 
Charles  P.  Sanborn,  there  were  Oliver  Pillsbury,  for 
a  long  time  insurance  commissioner,  Moses  Humphrey, 
Benjamin  F.  Gale,  Horace  A.  Brown,  and  Stillman 
Humphrey,  all  four  honored  by  elections  as  mayors  of 
the  city,  John  Ballard,  Joseph  C.  A.  Hill,  M.  W.  Dick- 
erman,  and  John  C.  Kilburne.  At  no  time  were  so 
many  leading  Republicans  friendly  to  Rollins  elected 
to  the  legislature  as  this  year.  Nehemiah  G.  Ordway 
was  returned  from  Warner,  while  others  to  be  men 
tioned  were  David  H.  Goodell,  of  Antrim,  and  Charles 
H.  Sawyer,  of  Dover,  two  future  governors  of  the 
Sta^e,  William  M.  Weed,  of  Sandwich,  Charles  J. 
Amidon,  of  Hinsdale,  Edward  Gustine,  of  Keene, 
Frank  P.  Brown,  of  Whitefield,  Wyman  Pattee,  of 
Enfield,  Augustus  A.  Woolson,  of  Lisbon,  afterward 
Speaker,  Timothy  Kaley,  of  Milford,  Charles  Scott, 
of  Peterboro,  William  S.  Pillsbury,  of  Londonderry, 
John  Wheeler,  of  Salem,  O.  B.  Warren  and  S.  C. 
Meader,  of  Rochester,  and  Edwin  G.  Eastman,  of 
Grantham,  afterward  attorney-general  of  the  State. 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED   STATES   SENATOR      359 

The  Presidential  campaign  immediately  enlisted 
public  attention.  The  third  term  spectre  had  now 
faded  from  the  public  gaze,  as  President  Grant  had 
stated  that  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  another  nom 
ination.  Interest,  therefore,  centred  about  the  various 
Republican  aspirants  for  the  Presidential  nomination. 
Elaine,  who  was  the  leading  candidate,  was  at  that 
time  the  choice  of  a  majority  of  New  Hampshire 
Republicans,  yet,  of  those  who  admired  him  for  his 
transcendent  ability,  not  a  few  doubted  his  success  at 
the  polls  if  nominated.  When  the  Republican  State 
convention  met  May  24,  1876,  to  elect  delegates  to  the 
national  convention,  it  was  not  thought  advisable  to 
declare  for  Elaine.  Ossian  Ray,  of  Lancaster,  pre 
sided.  The  following  were  chosen  delegates  at  large: 
Daniel  Hall,  of  Dover,  Charles  H.  Burns,  of  Wilton, 
Nathaniel  White,  of  Concord,  and  Ira  Colby,  of  Clare- 
mont.  The  district  delegates  were  George  W.  Mars- 
ton,  of  Portsmouth,  Alonzo  Nute,  of  Farmingtoii,  in 
the  first  district,  Jesse  Gault,  of  Hookset,  and  Ezekiel 
A.  Straw,  of  Manchester,  in  the  second,  and  Thomas 
C.  Rand,  of  Keene,  and  Eenjamin  F.  Whidden,  of 
Lancaster,  in  the  third. 

Interest  in  the  Presidential  campaign  did  not 
obscure  the  fact  that  on  the  incoming  Republican  leg 
islature  devolved  the  duty  of  electing  a  successor  to 
Aaron  H.  Cragin  in  the  United  States  Senate.  With 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  Republican  party,  Rollins  was 
the  first  choice.  He  had  been  a  candidate  for  this 
position  in  1864,  withdrawing  at  that  time  so  as  not 


360  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

to  prejudice  Concord's  interest  in  remaining  the  capi 
tal  of  the  State,  and  again  in  1866,  1870,  and  1872. 
As  the  directing  force  of  the  State  committee,  he  had 
conducted  the  campaign  for  two  years,  and,  under  his 
guidance,  the  Eepublicans  had  regained  control  of  the 
State.  Aside  from  the  fact  of  his  remarkable  aptitude 
for  legislative  work,  as  shown  in  his  Congressional 
career,  there  was  a  feeling  of  gratitude  among  Repub 
licans  of  the  State  and  a  desire  to  show  appreciation 
by  electing  him  to  the  Senate.  Yet  he  was  not  to 
attain  his  ambition  without  a,  contest,  which  at  one 
time  threatened  his  defeat.  He  was  still  treasurer  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  Toward  this  road  there 
was  a  strong  prejudice  in  the  popular  mind.  The  road 
was  a  debtor  to  the  government,  and  its  management 
had  been  involved  in  several  scandals.  A  considerable 
number  of  people  felt  that  Rolling's  election  to  the 
Senate  would  give  the  road  a  special  champion  in  that 
body.  Other  leaders  of  the  party  were  also  ambitious 
of  the  honor  of  representing  the  State  in  the  Senate, 
and  became  candidates.  The  opposition  to  Rollins  did 
not  concentrate  on  any  one  candidate,  but  divided  its 
forces  among  several.  These  candidates  were:  Orrin 
C.  Moore,  James  F.  Briggs,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  Levi 
Barton,  Charles  S.  Whitehouse,  Onslow  Stearns,  and 
Jacob  Benton.  Cragin  was  not  a  candidate  for  reelec 
tion. 

The  Republican  press  of  the  State  began  at  once 
after  election  to  take  sides  on  the  Senatorship.  The 
Nashua  Telegraph,  whose  editor  was  later,  as  a  mem- 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED    STATES   SENATOR      361 

ber  of  the  legislature,  to  openly  oppose  Rollins  because 
of  his  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
after  remarking  that  the  position  should  seek  the  man, 
said :  "  The  times  are  calling  loudly  for  a  type  of  men 
in  Washington  of  which  we  have  too  few  there.  We 
mean  men  who  have  no  entangling  alliance  with  rings 
or  monopolies.  We  mean  men  whose  hands  are  clean, 
and  who  will  lead  lives  of  simplicity,  no  matter  what 
glamour  and  temptations  may  surround  them.  We 
mean  men  who  will  have  no  other  ambition  or  purpose 
or  scheme  except  to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  public 
service.  We  mean  men  who  can  and  will  stand  up  and 
give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them,  who  can 
and  will  master  the  great  public  questions  that  are 
pressing  for  solution  upon  the  country,  who  can  and 
will  stand  firmly  and  boldly  forth  as  champions  of 
those  principles  and  reforms  that  are  essential  to  good 
government  and  to  the  continued  ascendency  of  the 
Republican  party.'' 

It  was  charged  by  Rollins's  friends  that  Moore,  in 
thus  stating  the  qualifications  of  the  man  who  should 
be  elected  Senator,  was  setting  out  his  own  fitness  for 
the  position,  and  that  his  ambition  for  the  place  ob 
scured  his  judgment  of  Rollins.  Moore  denied  this 
impeachment  of  his  motives,  saying  that  he  had  asked 
no  member  of  the  legislature  for  his  support.  That 
Moore  had  an  ambition  to  go  to  the  Senate  he  did  not 
disavow,  but  his  opposition  to  Rollins  was  undoubtedly 
promoted  by  his  belief  that  no  man  connected  with  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  should  be  elected  to  the  Senate. 


362  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Rollins' s  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  disturbed  his  personal  friends  as  well  as  his  sup 
porters.  Judge  Doe,  then  in  private  life,  in  a  charac 
teristic  letter  to  Rollins  expresses  both  his  friendship 
for  Rollins  and  his  apprehension  that  his  being  an 
officer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  would  be  embar 
rassing.  Referring  to  a  conversation  he  had  had  with 
one  of  the  members  of  the  legislature,  Doe  says :  "  The 
Pacific  Road  is  the  sole  trouble  with  you,  as  I  supposed 
it  would  be.  Precisely  what  course  you  would  think 
advisable  to  take  in  Pacific  Railroad  matters  I  cannot 
be  sure.  I  can  see  that  in  such  matters  your  position 
as  Senator  would  be  embarrassing.  I  have  merely 
expressed  my  opinion  about  you  when  I  have  heard 
your  nomination  opposed,  and  I  understand  I  am  put 
down  as  a  Rollins  man,  which  is  a  great  mistake.  The 
question  of  nomination,  like  all  political  matters,  I 
do  not  meddle  with,  but,  when  I  hear  you  unfairly 
dealt  with,  I  shall,  as  a  schoolmate  and  townsman,  do 
my  best  to  see  that  you  have  justice,  speaking  upon  an 
acquaintance  of  forty  years.  So  far  as  that  goes,  I 
am  ready  to  bear  voluntary  testimony  that  I  would 
not  hesitate  to  trust  you  anywhere.  .  .  .  For  old 
acquaintance'  sake,  I  should  defend  you  whenever 
defence  seemed  to  be  called  for  by  declaring  that  upon 
my  personal  knowledge  of  you  I  should  entrust  any 
duties  private  or  public  to  you  with  perfect  confidence 
in  the  ability  and  integrity  with  which  they  would  be 
performed." 

While  the  canvass  for  Senator  was  moving  along, 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED   STATES   SENATOE      363 

Elaine,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidential  nomina 
tion,  was  charged  with  having  improper  relations  with 
the  Pacific  Railroads,  and  Rollins  was  accused,  as 
treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  of  trying  to 
shield  Elaine.  With  this  assumption  as  a  basis, 
further  accusations  followed  that  Rollins  was  unfaith 
ful  to  his  trust  as  treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road.  Rollins's  answer  to  these  charges  was  the  pub 
lication  of  letters  from  each  of  the  directors  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  appointed  by  the  government. 
These  directors  were  John  C.  S.  Harrison,  of  Indiana, 
J.  A.  Tibbits,  of  Connecticut,  F.  E.  Brewer,  of  New 
York,  J.  H.  Millard,  of  Nebraska,  and  James  F.  Wil 
son,  of  Iowa.  Their  letters  expressed  the  fullest  con 
fidence  in  Rollins's  integrity  and  ability,  and  his 
cordial  cooperation  in  the  affairs  of  the  company  with 
the  government  directors.  They  all  united  in  saying 
that,  while  Rollins  had  always  ceaselessly  guarded  the 
interests  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  he  had  ever 
been  fair  and  just  to  the  government.  Mr.  Millard, 
in  closing  his  letter,  indiscreetly  said :  "I  believe  I 
speak  the  sentiments  of  all  the  government  directors 
in  saying  that  New  Hampshire  will  have  in  you  a  most 
worthy  Senator,  and,  while  we  shall  regret  to  lose  you 
as  our  secretary  and  treasurer,  we  most  earnestly  hope 
the  Republicans  of  the  State  will  honor  New  Hamp 
shire  by  making  you  United  States  Senator." 

As  has  already  been  implied,  the  opposition  to  Rol 
lins  fostered  in  both  Republican  and  Democratic  news 
papers  attempted  to  secure  his  defeat  on  account  of  his 


364  LIFE   OF   EDWABD   H.   ROLLINS 

railroad  connections  On  the  day  preceding  the  Re 
publican  Senatorial  caucus,  Orrin  C.  Moore  rose  to  a 
personal  explanation  in  the  House,  in  the  course  of 
which,  referring  to  the  letters  of  the  government  direc 
tors  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  he  said :  "  What 
business  and  what  right  has  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
Corporation  to  interfere  with  the  election  of  a  United 
States  Senator  in  !N"ew  Hampshire,  and  what  kind  of 
a  man  is  he  who  attempts  to  get  elected  by  such  means  ? 
Ko  such  man  deserves  nor  can  receive  my  commenda 
tion  and  support." 

This  attack  upon  Rollins  created  a  profound  sensa 
tion  and  led  to  the  belief  that,  if  Rollins  was  nominated 
in  the  caucus,  Moore  would  bolt  the  nomination.  The 
caucus  assembled  that  evening  amid  intense  excitement, 
for  it  was  expected  that  Moore  would  be  even  more 
explicit  in  defining  his  position  before  his  party  asso 
ciates  than  before  both  Democrats  and  Republicans  in 
the  House.  The  caucus,  however,  proceeded  immedi 
ately  to  ballot,  and  Rollins  received  the  nomination 
by  just  the  requisite  number  of  votes.1  After  the 
excitement  incident  to  the  declaration  of  the  vote, 
Moore  arose  and  moved  that  the  nomination  be  made 
unanimous.  He  then  spoke  as  follows: 

1  The  ballot  was  :  Charles  P.  Sanboru,  of  Concord,  1  ;  Aaron  H. 
Cragin,  of  Lebanon,  1 ;  Jacob  Benton,  of  Lancaster,  8  ;  Charles  S. 
Whitehouse,  of  Rochester,  9 ;  Levi  W.  Barton,  of  Newport,  12  ; 
Aaron  F.  Stevens,  of  Nashua,  16  ;  Onslow  Stearns,  of  Concord,  20  ; 
James  F.  Briggs,  of  Manchester,  20  ;  Orrin  C.  Moore,  of  Nashua,  21  ; 
Edward  H.  Rollins,  of  Concord,  109. 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED    STATES   SENATOR      365 

"  I  need  not  say,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  the  gentlemen 
present,  that  I  have  taken  a  somewhat  active  part  in 
the  present  canvass.  I  have  done  so  from  motives  that 
I  need  not  speak  of.  I  have  done  the  best  I  could  to 
defeat  the  nomination  of  Edward  H.  Rollins.  I  have 
done  it  honestly ;  I  have  done  it  strenuously ;  I  made 
up  my  mind  at  the  outset  I  would  do  it  outside  of  the 
caucus.  He  has  received  the  nomination,  and,  sir,  I 
move  that  the  nomination  be  made  unanimous. 

"  In  saying  that,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  wish  to  add  one 
word  further  that  may  disabuse  any  gentleman  of  any 
remarks  that  I  have  made  elsewhere  to-day,  —  that, 
in  the  remark  I  made  in  the  House,  I  only  intended 
—  if  I  was  not  so  understood  —  that  my  remarks 
should  apply  to  the  nomination ;  that  I  could  not  sup 
port  the  nomination  before  it  was  made.  But  that 
nomination  has  been  made  in  this  caucus.  So  far  as 
I  know,  it  has  been  made  fairly,  and  it  is  enough  for 
me.  The  Republican  party  has  a  .great  duty  before  it 
in  the  canvass  that  is  soon  to  open  on  the  national 
field,  and  it  will  take  all  the  efforts  of  the  united 
Republican  party  to  win  the  canvass,  and  I  have  no 
wish,  no  purpose,  to  throw  anything  into  the  arena 
that  shall  militate  against  a  victory  next  fall  in  the 
State  as  well  as  in  the  nation. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  put  the  question  to  Mr.  Rollins 
just  before  I  came  in  here  to-night,  which  determined 
my  action  in  regard  to  this  matter.  I  said  to  Mr. 
Rollins :  c  Do  you  propose,  upon  your  honor,  if  you 
are  nominated  and  elected,  to  sever  all  your  connec- 


366  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.    ROLLINS 

tions,  direct  or  indirect,  with  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  ? '  and  he  gave  me  his  word  of  honor  that  he 
would,  and  upon  that  I  determined  to  support  his  nom 
ination." 

Rollins  appeared  in  the  caucus  in  response  to  an 
invitation,  and  accepted  the  nomination.  His  speech 
was  informal  and  brief.  He  expressed  his  gratitude 
for  the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  and  pledged  the 
State  his  best  efforts  in  her  behalf.  He  denied  that 
any  railroad  had  sought  or  labored  for  his  nomination. 
He  accepted  the  nomination  as  from  the  people,  whose 
servant  he  should  be,  and  not  that  of  any  ring,  clique, 
or  corporation.  After  complimenting  his  rivals,  he 
thanked  them  for  their  generous  action  in  making  his 
nomination  unanimous.  His  election  by  the  legislature 
followed  the  next  week. 

The  Republican  press  of  the  State  very  generally 
commended  his  selection.  The  Monitor  said :  "  We 
are  gratified,  not  only  because  we  shall  have  a  Senator 
who  can  be  counted  on  to  vote  right  on  all  the  great 
questions  of  our  time,  who  is  able  and  practical,  and 
always  approachable,  not  only  because  it  is  a  just  and 
fitting  recognition  of  the  services  of  a  matchless 
leader,  but  because  we  believe  that  no  other  result 
could  promise  so  much  for  the  future  success  of  our 
party,  harmonizing  all  elements,  healing  all  wounds, 
and  giving  a  new  impetus  to  the  cause  of  good  govern 
ment  every  where." 

The  Dover  Enquirer  said :  "  It  is  a  result  emphat 
ically  in  accordance  with  the  popular  will,  and  in  it  the 


ELECTION    AS   UNITED    STATES    SENATOR      367 

legislature  has  only  recognized  and  carried  out  the 
preference  and  expectations  of  an  overwhelming  ma 
jority  of  the  Eepuhlicans  of  New  Hampshire.  No 
other  man  would  have  so  satisfied  public  sentiment  as 
Mr.  Rollins.  In  his  success,  unwearied  service  and 
skilful  ability  have  received  deserved  appreciation." 

The  Portsmouth  Journal  said:  "The  very  qualities 
which  make  successful  soldiers  against  their  political 
enemies  often  provoke  jealousy  in  their  own  ranks,  and 
parties,  like  republics,  are  proverbially  ungrateful. 
While  we  have  always  acknowledged  the  very  great 
service  of  Mr.  Rollins  in  the  battles  which  the  party  has 
fought  in  the  State  with  his  constant  aid,  we  have  advo 
cated  his  selection  as  a  candidate  from  other  motives. 
Mr.  Rollins  has  never  disappointed  his  fellow  citizens 
in  any  of  the  responsible  interests  entrusted  to  him. 
A  man  who,  as  Speaker  of  the  State  legislature,  as 
member  of  Congress,  as  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee  in  a  State  where  campaigns  have  been  conducted 
against  greater  odds  and  with  more  ability  than  in  any 
State  in  the  Union,  has  always  ably  and  successfully 
carried  through  all  that  he  has  undertaken,  is  a  man 
who  possesses  the  elements  that  will  make  him  a  good 
Senator." 

The  Boston  Journal  said:  "  The  Republicans  of  New 
Hampshire  are  to  be  congratulated  on  the  prompt  and 
successful  manner  in  which  they  have  finished  up  their 
canvass  for  the  office  of  Senatorship.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  Mr.  Rollins  was  the  first  choice  of  the 
party.  From  the  outset,  he  has  had  for  competitors 


368  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

some  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  State,  and  the  canvass  has 
been  earnest  and  general,  yet  Mr.  Rollins  has  steadily 
advanced  in  strength  until  his  nomination  was  achieved 
on  the  first  ballot  of  the  caucus.  A  large  part  of  the 
triumph  is  unquestionably  due  to  a  feeling  of  gratitude 
on  the  part  of  the  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  for 
the  invaluable  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Rollins  during 
so  many  years.  Whenever  there  have  been  seasons  of 
special  trial,  when  the  cause  was  in  peril  and  the  pros 
pects  looked  dark,  Mr.  Rollins  has  never  failed  to  throw 
in  his  eiforts  as  an  organizer  and  director  of  campaigns 
with  the  almost  invariable  result  of  victory  at  the  polls. 
M>  better  manager  has  ever  appeared  in  a  State  which 
peculiarly  knows  what  good  political  management  is. 
In  addition,  however,  is  the  feeling  that  Mr.  Rollins 
has  the  ability  and  character  to  make  a  United  States 
Senator  who  will  promote  the  interests  of  his  constit 
uents  and  prove  useful  to  the  general  principles  of  sane 
legislation.  In  this  connection  it  is  no  more  than  was 
expected  of  him  by  those  who  knew  him  that  he  should 
declare  his  purpose  on  his  election  to  the  Senatorship 
to  dissolve  all,  his  relations  with  business  enterprises 
which  might  come  before  him  as  a  legislator.  In  this 
spirit  we  have  no  doubt  he  will  meet  and  ably  discharge 
all  the  duties  of  his  new  position." 

The  nomination  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  for  Presi 
dent  followed  almost  immediately  after  the  Republican 
Senatorial  caucus  in  New  Hampshire.  It  came  as  s 
surprise  and  a  disappointment  to  the  Republicans  oi 
the  State.  Those  who  were  not  for  Elaine  had  a  par- 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED   STATES   SENATOR      369 

tiality  for  Benjamin  F.  Bristow,  who  was  a  member  of 
Grant's  Cabinet  and  who  had  been  identified  with  the 
reform  movement  within  the  party.  A  ratification 
meeting,  however,  was  immediately  arranged  at  Con 
cord,  at  which  Rollins  and  other  leaders  of  the  party 
spoke.  The  selection,  a  few  weeks  later,  of  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  by  the  Democratic  National  Convention  as  the 
standard-bearer  of  that  party,  infused  the  Democrats  of 
New  Hampshire  with  confidence  in  the  general  result 
and  encouraged  them  to  make  a  contest  to  carry  the 
State.  Chandler  and  Rollins  arranged  a  mass-meeting 
at  the  capital  for  September  21st,  which  was  addressed 
by  Blaine,  George  William  Curtis,  and  Nathaniel  P. 
Banks.  The  October  State  elections  in  Ohio  and  In 
diana  indicated  a  close  election  in  the  country  in  No 
vember.  While  there  was  little  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
the  Republican  leaders  of  New  Hampshire  regarding 
the  result  in  the  State,  the  campaign  was  conducted,  on 
their  part,  with  their  customary  attention  to  details. 
The  result  was  the  choice  of  the  Republican  electors  by 
a  majority  of  about  three  thousand.  Then  followed 
the  disputed  Presidential  election,  its  reference  to  an 
electoral  commission,  and  the  decision  of  the  commis 
sion  that  Hayes  was  elected.  While  the  Presidential 
dispute  was  in  progress,  the  Republicans  opened  their 
campaign  of  1877. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  January 
10,  1877,  and  Austin  F.  Pike,  of  Franklin,  was  elected 
president.  There  was  a  spirited  contest  for  the  nomi 
nation  of  governor,  although  Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  of 


370  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Epping,  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  for  a  long  time 
secretary  of  the  Republican  State  committee,  was  the 
leading  candidate.  On  the  second  ballot  Prescott  was 
nominated,  Natt  Head,  of  Hooksett,  being  his  principal 
opponent. 

Prescott  proved  to  be  a  popular  candidate.  Through 
his  connection  with  the  State  committee  and  his  service 
as  Secretary  of  State,  he  was  well  known  to  the  people 
of  New  Hampshire.  He  was  a  man  of  pleasing  per 
sonality  and  a  public-spirited  citizen.  The  State  owes 
him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  excellent  collection  of 
portraits  of  its  governors  which  now  adorns  the  walls 
of  the  State  Library. 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  of  Concord,  reported  the  plat 
form  which  brought  forth  this  commendation  from  the 
Boston  Journal: 

"  For  many  years  it  has  been  the  distinctive  privi 
lege  of  the  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  to  give  the 
key-note  of  the  campaign,  the  first  utterance  of  an  in 
telligent  people  for  or  against  any  policy,  and  the  first 
opinion  in  the  great  political  crises  of  the  past  twenty 
years.  On  such  critical  occasions  the  New  Hampshire 
Republicans  have  never  failed  in  their  duty  In  the 
earliest  days  of  the  organization,  they  sustained  the 
champions  of  freedom  in  their  contest  against  the  sla 
very  propagandists.  In  the  Lincoln  campaign  the  New 
Hampshire  Republicans  gave  the  first  indication  of  the 
sentiment  of  the  North.  When  the  contest  came  be 
tween  union  and  secession,  the  sturdy  Republicans  of 
New  Hampshire  in  their  March  election  strengthened 


ELECTION    AS   UNITED    STATES    SENATOR      371 

the  purpose  of  the  loyal  heart  by  their  declarations  for 
union.  Their  bugle-blast  of  victory  was  full  of  inspi 
ration,  giving  courage  to  men  in  Congress  and  in  all  the 
States,  and  so  it  has  ever  been  since.  Other  States,  with 
greater  majorities  and  easier  fields  to  fight,  have  fal 
tered,  but  'New  Hampshire  never  has  wavered  in  a 
great  crisis." 

For  Congress  Henry  W.  Blair  was  renominated  in 
the  Third  District,  and  Oilman  Marston  again  secured 
the  nomination  in  the  First  District.  In  the  Second 
District  James  F.  Briggs,  of  Manchester,  was  nomi 
nated  on  the  first  ballot,  the  vote  standing:  Briggs  137, 
Orrin  C.  Moore  46,  Austin  F.  Pike  24,  Nehemiah  G. 
Ordway  21,  Charles  H.  Burns  9. 

The  Republican  State  committee  organized  by  the 
choice  of  Elijah  M.  Topliff,  of  Manchester,  as  chair 
man,  George  E1.  Jenks,  of  Concord,  secretary,  and 
John  Kimball,  of  Concord,  treasurer. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  was  held  January 
17,  1877.  John  S.  H.  Frink,  of  Greenland,  was  chosen 
president.  Some  opposition  developed  to  the  renomina- 
tion  of  Daniel  Marcy  as  a  candidate  for  governor, 
his  principal  opponent  being  Frank  A.  McKean,  of 
Nashua.  A  ballot,  however,  showed  Marcy  largely  the 
choice  of  the  convention,  385  votes  being  cast  for  him 
to  127  for  McKean  and  12  scattering.  The  Democrats 
renominated  Frank  Jones  for  Congress  in  the  First 
District  and  Henry  O.  Kent  in  the  Third  District.  In 
the  Second  District  they  brought  forward  a  new  can 
didate,  Alvah  W.  Sulloway,  of  Franklin. 


372  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Briggs  and  Sulloway,  who  were  opposing  candidates 
for  Congress  in  the  Second  District,  were  coming  into 
prominence  as  leaders  in  their  respective  parties.  Both 
were  self-made  men  and  both  had  great  personal  in 
fluence.  Briggs  was  a  successful  lawyer,  Sulloway  a 
successful  manufacturer.  Briggs  had  served  in  both 
branches  of  the  legislature  and  was  to  serve  three  terms 
in  Congress.  His  service  in  the  national  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  was  contemporaneous  with  Rollins's  serv 
ice  in  the  Senate,  and  he  became  Rollins's  leading  ri 
val  when  the  latter  sought  reelection  to  the  Senate  in 
1883.  Briggs  was  one  of  the  strong  men  of  the 
State,  a  powerful  and  fearless  advocate  in  debate  when 
aroused,  but  not  inclined  to  court  controversy.  He  was 
courageous  in  his  convictions  and  loyal  in  his  friend 
ships.  His  last  public  service  was  in  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1902.  His  public  career  was  a  credit 
to  himself  and  the  State. 

Sulloway  became  one  of  the  master  spirits  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  New  Hampshire  and  helped  to 
shape  its  policies  until  the  campaign  of  1896,  when,  not 
agreeing  with  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  Democratic 
national  platform,  he  withdrew  from  active  participa 
tion  in  politics.  Throughout  his  political  career  he 
possessed  the  confidence  of  both  political  supporters  and 
opponents. 

The  campaign  of  1877  was  not  exciting.  The  atten 
tion  of  the  whole  country  was  riveted  on  the  proceedings 
in  Congress  leading  up  to  the  electoral  count.  The  Elec 
toral  Commission  declared  Hayes  elected  President,  to 


ELECTION   AS   UNITED   STATES   SENATOR      373 

the  gratification  of  Republicans  and  to  the  disappoint 
ment  of  Democrats.  The  latter  in  New  Hampshire 
seemed  to  lose  heart  after  the  Electoral  Commission  had 
concluded  its  labors,  and  the  March  election  resulted  in 
a  Republican  victory  except  in  the  First  Congressional 
District.  The  vote  for  governor  was :  scattering,  56 ; 
Asa  S.  Kendall,  338 ;  Daniel  Marcy,  36,721 ;  Benjamin 
F.  Prescott,  40,755. 

Briggs  was  elected  to  Congress  in  the  Second  Dis 
trict  by  1,097  plurality,  Blair  in  the  Third  District  by 
861  plurality,  while  Jones  secured  his  reelection  in  the 
First  District  by  43  plurality. 

During  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880,  the  Demo 
cratic  party  brought  a  number  of  its  young  men  to  the 
front.  Their  names  are  nearly  all  to  be  found  in  the 
legislative  rolls  of  those  years.  The  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  was  the  arena  where  they  secured  their  intro 
duction  to  the  public,  for  the  fierce  political  battles 
waged  in  that  body  during  a  part  of  this  period  af 
forded  excellent  opportunity  for  the  display  of  their 
talents.  The  reader  familiar  with  that  decade  will 
/eadily  recall  the  following  who  were  then  entering 
upon  a  political  career:  Edward  K.  Mann,  of  Haver- 
hill,  Frank  Hiland,  of  Manchester,  George  E.  Coch- 
rane,  of  New  Boston,  John  M.  Mitchell  and  Albert  S. 
Batchellor,  of  Littleton,  Herbert  F.  Norris,  of  Epping, 
Charles  A.  Jewell,  of  Plymouth,  John  T.,  Lewis  F., 
and  Charles  A.  Busiel,  of  Laconia,  Charles  H.  Smith, 
of  Newmarket,  Frank  H.  Pierce,  of  Hillsboro,  Nathan 
C.  Jameson,  of  Antrim,  John  Hatch,  of  Greenland,  and 


374  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

Clarence  E.  Carr,  of  Andover.  Two  of  the  foregoing 
were  afterwards  candidates  of  their  party  for  Congress, 
several  held  important  State  positions,  and  one,  Charles 
A.  Busiel,  was  elected  governor  in  1894,  having  then 
become  a  Republican. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 

ROLLINS   IN    THE    FOETY  -  FIFTH    CONGRESS 

ROLLINS  took  the  oath  of  office  as  United  States  Sen 
ator  March  4,  1877,  at  the  extra  session  of  the  Senate 
called  by  President  Hayes  to  confirm  the  Cabinet  and 
other  appointments.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Commit 
tees  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  Manufactures,  and 
Audit  and  Control  of  the  Contingent  Expenses  of  the 
Senate.  At  the  second  session  of  this  Congress  he  be 
came  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Manufactures. 
With  the  work  of  the  other  two  committees  he  was 
familiar,  having  served  on  corresponding  committees 
in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  From  the  beginning 
of  his  Congressional  career  he  had  taken  a  deep  interest 
in  the  affairs  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  govern 
ment  of  the  District  was  now  in  the  hands  of  commis 
sioners,  and  it  forced  much  detail  work  upon  the 
District  committees  of  both  branches  of  Congress. 
Legislation  for  the  District  occupied  a  large  part  of 
Rolling's  time  during  this  Congress.  He  was  fre 
quently  called  to  the  chair  of  the  Senate,  and,  during 
his  term  as  Senator,  he  probably  presided  over  that 
body  more  than  any  other  Senator  except  the  president 
pro  tern,  of  the  Senate. 

375 


376  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

His  activity  was  along  the  lines  which  gave  him 
prominence  in  the  other  branch  of  Congress.  He  made 
no  set  speeches,  but  he  participated  in  debate  on  meas 
ures  reported  by  his  own  and  other  committees.  His 
reputation  for  accomplishing  results  soon  gave  him  a 
full  calendar  of  personal  requests  from  constituents  and 
others  whose  interests  were  affected  by  legislation  or 
by  the  action  of  the  departments.  The  untiring  at 
tention  he  contributed  to  all  matters  entrusted  to  his 
charge  and  the  persistency  with  which  he  advocated 
a  cause  in  which  he  was  enlisted  gave  to  him  success 
where  others  failed.  When  he  had  a  bill  in  charge,  he 
never  lacked  support  in  the  Senate  from  the  older  and 
more  prominent  Senators,  for  he  was  helpful  to  his  as 
sociates  in  the  same  manner  that  he  was  helpful  to  his 
constituents.  The  courtesy  of  the  Senate  gave  him  in 
return  an  influence  not  always  possessed  by  those  heard 
more  frequently  in  debate.  As  a  working  member  of 
the  Senate,  attentive  to  details,  skilful  in  the  manage 
ment  of  measures,  knowing  when  to  press  them  to  con-" 
elusion  and  when  to  allow  them  to  be  set  aside,  Rollins 
was  unexcelled  in  his  day.  New  Hampshire  has  had 
more  brilliant  members  of  that  branch  of  Congress,  men 
who  have  been  conspicuous  in  shaping  party  policies, 
men  who  were  strikingly  prominent  in  debate,  but  none 
who  as  legislators  could  count  more  net  results  to  their 
credit.  The  State  never  had  a  more  useful  Senator  or 
one  who  accomplished  more  for  her  benefit. 

An  instance  of  the  character  of  Rollins's  service  to 
the  State  is  his  successful  effort  in  this  Congress  to 


IN    THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  377 

secure  relief  for  a  number  of  savings  banks  of  New 
Hampshire,  affected  by  a  ruling  of  the  commissioner 
of  internal  revenue  on  the  law  in  force  at  that  time, 
taxing  bank  deposits.  This  law,  as  previously  inter 
preted,  taxed  deposits  in  banks,  but  exempted  deposits 
in  savings  banks.  The  bank  most  effected  by  the  ruling 
of  the  commissioner  of  internal  revenue  was  the  New 
Hampshire  Savings  Bank  of  Concord,  and  the  story  of 
its  case  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  hardship  imposed 
upon  the  savings  banks  of  the  State. 

The  charter  of  the  Merrimack  County  Bank  of  Con 
cord  expired  in  1866.  Its  directors  were  men  well  ad 
vanced  in  years.  They  did  not  care  to  incorporate  as 
a  national  bank  as  other  State  banks  of  discount  were 
doing,  and  so  they  allowed  their  charter  to  expire  by 
limitation.  These  directors  and  some  of  the  large  de 
positors  of  this  bank  transferred  their  deposits  to  the 
New  Hampshire  Savings  Bank  under  an  arrangement 
which  permitted  them  to  check  out  these  deposits,  but 
allowed  them  no  interest  on  their  balances.  These  busi 
ness  deposits  averaged  about  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
The  New  Hampshire  Savings  Bank  paid  the  tax  on 
these  business  deposits  to  the  United  States  government 
under  rulings  made  by  two  successive  commissioners 
of  internal  revenue  that  these  deposits  and  not  the  de 
posits  of  savings  depositors  were  subject  to  taxation. 
Other  savings  banks  of  the  State  in  towns  where  there 
was  no  national  bank  accepted  business  deposits  sub 
ject  to  check  for  the  accommodation  of  the  business 
men  of  the  community,  but  allowed  no  interest  thereon. 


378  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

These   savings   banks   regularly   returned  the   amount 
of  their  business  deposits  and  paid  taxes  thereon. 

About  1874  a  new  commissioner  of  internal  revenue 
held  that  a  savings  bank  to  be  entitled  to  the  exemp 
tion  of  the  law  must  have  no  other  deposits  than  those 
of  savings  depositors,  and  that,  when  a  savings  bank 
took  business  deposits  subject  to  check,  all  the  deposits 
of  the  bank  were  subject  to  taxation.  While  this  last 
ruling  was  undoubtedly  correct,  the  New  Hampshire 
savings  banks  were  entitled  in  equity  to  relief,  for  the 
reason  that  previous  commissioners  of  internal  revenue 
had  sanctioned  the  practice  by  accepting  the  tax  on 
the  business  deposits  with  a  full  knowledge  of  what  the 
savings  banks  were  doing.  Then  again,  the  burden  did 
not  fall  upon  the  business  depositors,  but  upon  many 
new  and  later  savings  depositors  who  were  not  depos 
itors  at  the  time  the  practice  prevailed.  This  ruling 
not  only  applied  to  the  future,  but  related  back  several 
years.  All  the  savings  banks  of  the  State  having 
business  deposits  at  once  paid  them  in  full  and  discon 
tinued  the  practice  of  taking  them.  The  back  taxes 
thus  assessed  upon  New  Hampshire  savings  banks 
became  a  burden  of  no'  small  proportions  and  in  some 
instances  threatened  the  solvency  of  these  institutions. 
The  savings  deposits  of  the  New  Hampshire  Savings 
Bank  at  that  time  were  over  a  million  dollars.  The 
tax  due  from  it  was  thirty  thousand  dollars  or  more, 
or  about  one-half  of  its  annual  dividend.  None  of  the 
savings  banks  of  New  Hampshire  then  had  any  con 
siderable  surplus.  The  New  Hampshire  Savings  Bank 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  379 

contested  the  ruling  of  the  commissioner  and  suit  was 
brought  against  it  by  the  United  States  government. 
At  the  first  regular  session  of  this  Congress,  the  matter 
was  brought  to  Rollins' s  attention. 

Senator  Davis,  of  Illinois,  had  already  introduced  a 
bill  in  the  Senate  for  the  relief  of  insolvent  savings 
banks.  This  bill  was  favorably  reported  to  the  Senate 
by  the  committee  on  finance.  Rollins  offered  an 
amendment  providing  relief  for  the  New  Hampshire 
savings  banks.  The  amendment  at  once  met  with 
strong  opposition.  The  West  and  South  were  without 
savings  banks  at  that  time.  The  Western  and  Southern 
Senators  not  only  opposed  the  relief  for  the  New 
Hampshire  savings  banks,  but  claimed  that  the  gen 
eral  exemption  of  savings  banks  from  this  tax  was 
a  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  East.  Their  ground 
of  opposition  was  that  savings  banks  deposits  were  used 
just  as  much  for  commercial  purposes  in  the  loans 
made  by  the  savings  banks  as  the  deposits  of  national 
banks.  Being  unfamiliar  with  savings  banks,  they  took 
no  account  of  the  fact  that  the  aggregate  of  these  sav 
ings  deposits  was  made  up  of  the  small  savings  of 
wage-earners,  or  of  the  further  fact  that  all  of  the  earn 
ings  of  the  savings  banks,  except  the  small  cost  of  their 
management,  were  divided  among  the  depositors.  They 
argued  that  both  business  and  savings  deposits  made 
up  the  banking  capital  of  the  community,  and  that, 
whereas  the  West  and  South  paid  the  tax  upon  all 
their  banking  capital,  the  East  was  exempt  from  taxa 
tion  of  a  part  of  its  banking  capital.  In  the  debate 


380  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

that  followed,  Rollins  had  the  assistance  of  Senators 
Morrill,  of  Vermont,  and  Dawes,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  finally  carried  his  amendment.  The  vote  was 
close  and  along  sectional  lines.  The  bill  as  amended 
went  to  the  House  where  it  was  referred  to  the  com 
mittee  on  ways  and  means,  and  there  it  slumbered  for 
the  remainder  of  the  session. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  forty-fifth  Congress,  a 
revenue  bill  passed  the  House  of  Representatives 
amending  the  existing  internal  revenue  law  granting 
relief  to  certain  business  interests  affected  by  the  law. 
When  the  bill  came  up  in  the  Senate,  Rollins  offered 
his  old  amendment  for  the  relief  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  savings  banks.  Opposition  to  it  was  renewed  by 
the  Western  and  Southern  Senators.  After  a  spirited 
debate,  the  Senate  voted  to  incorporate  it  in  the  rev 
enue  bill.  The  measure  was  then  returned  to  the 
House  for  concurrence  by  that  body  in  a  number  of 
amendments  made  by  the  Senate.  The  House  readily 
concurred  in  most  of  the  amendments  offered  by  the 
Senate,  but  non-concurred  in  some,  among  which  was 
the  Rollins  amendment.  The  bill  was  then  sent  to  a 
conference  committee  of  the  two  houses  and  each  house 
for  a  time  adhered  to  its  position.  The  session  of  the 
forty-fifth  Congress  was  drawing  to  a  close,  only  three 
or  four  working  days  remaining.  The  revenue  bill 
was  important  to  the  interests  affected  by  it.  The 
Senate  as  a  whole  had  no  special  interest  in  the  relief 
of  New  Hampshire  savings  banks,  but  many  Senators 
and  Representatives,  especially  those  from  the  South 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  381 

and  West,  represented  constituents  who  were  intensely 
interested  in  the  revenue  bill.  Rollins  insisted  that 
the  revenue  bill  must  pass  as  it  left  the  Senate  or  not 
at  all.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Senate  had  still 
several  appropriation  bills  to  dispose  of,  and,  as  these 
bills  had  the  right  of  way,  any  one  Senator  could  defeat 
the  revenue  bill.  Rollins  was  ready  to  become  that 
one  Senator.  In  this  way,  he  held  the  Senate  con 
ferees  firm  in  their  position,  and  finally  induced  the 
House  conferees  to  recede.  The  bill  with  the  Rollins 
amendment  affording  relief  to  the  New  Hampshire 
savings  banks  was  then  accepted  by  the  House  and 
became  a  law  by  the  President's  signature. 

On  all  questions  of  party  policy,  Rollins  stood  with 
the  stalwart  wing  of  the  Republican  party.  As  a  mem 
ber  of  the  national  House  of  Representatives  from 
1861  to  18  67,  he  had  favored  the  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  war,  the  early  abolition  of  slavery,  and  all  meas 
ures  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  negro  race.  The 
fifteenth  amendment  of  the  federal  constitution, 
adopted  during  the  interim  of  Rollins's  Congressional 
service,  met  with  his  cordial  approval,  and  he  was  a 
strong  advocate  of  the  exercise  by  Congress  of  the 
powers  therein  conferred  for  its  enforcement.  Coming 
to  the  Senate  at  the  beginning  of  President  Hayes's 
administration,  Rollins  had  no  faith  in  the  President's 
conciliatory  policy  toward  the  South.  He  looked  upon 
that  policy  as  an  abandonment  of  the  negro  and  a 
surrender  of  the  principles  for  which  the  Republican 
party  had  contended.  With  Conkling  and  Elaine,  he 


382  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

regarded  the  recognition  by  the  President  of  the  Demo 
cratic  State  government  in  Louisiana  and  South  Caro 
lina  as  an  impeachment  by  President  Hayes  of  his  own 
title,  but  he  did  not  go  so  far  as  to  make  an  issue  with 
the  administration  on  this  account.  As  heretofore,  he 
looked  ahead  to  the  next  campaign  and  deprecated  any 
action  which  might  defeat  the  Republican  party  or  con 
tribute  to  Democratic  success.  The  administration 
might  make  mistakes.  To  his  mind,  it  was  better  to 
bear  with  these  patiently  than  to  take  the  risk  of  a 
Democratic  national  triumph,  which  would  mean  the 
setting  aside  of  all  the  principles  for  which  the  Repub 
lican  party  had  so  long  battled. 

On  the  financial  questions  of  the  forty-fifth  Con 
gress,  Rollins  steadfastly  voted  against  all  inflation 
measures  and  to  sustain  the  President  in  upholding  the 
financial  credit  of  the  country. 

During  this  Congress,  two  important  campaigns 
occurred  in  JSTew  Hampshire.  The  constitutional  con 
vention  of  1876  had  submitted  amendments  to  the  State 
constitution  providing  for  biennial  elections  and  bien 
nial  sessions  of  the  legislature,  which  had  been  rati 
fied  by  the  people.  The  legislature  of  1877  had  pro 
vided  that  these  amendments  should  go  into  effect  in 
the  fall  of  1878.  There  were,  therefore,  two  elections 
that  year,  the  last  annual  election  in  the  spring  of 
1878  and  the  first  biennial  election  in  November  of 
that  year.  ~No  change  had  been  made  in  the  time  of 
the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  so  that  the  administra 
tive  year  began  and  ended  in  June.  The  legislature 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  383 

elected  in  March,  1878,  would  meet  in  June  follow 
ing,  and  the  legislature  elected  in  November,  1878, 
would  meet  in  June,  1879.  By  providing  that  the 
first  biennial  election  should  occur  in  the  fall  of  1878, 
State  elections  came  in  the  years  of  the  national  elec 
tions  for  the  choice  of  members  of  Congress  and  Presi 
dent.  With  the  advent  of  the  biennial  election  and  the 
change  of  time  from  March  to  November,  New  Hamp 
shire  elections  became  more  local  in  their  interest. 
The  State  no  longer  occupied  the  position  of  holding 
the  first  election  in  the  year,  and  its  importance  from 
a  national  point  of  view  materially  lessened. 

Two  judicial  appointments  made  by  Governor  Pres- 
cott  in  the  summer  of  1877  were  severely  condemned 
by  many  active  Republicans  of  the  State.  To  fill 
vacancies  on  the  supreme  bench  he  had  appointed  as 
judges  Isaac  W.  Smith  and  Lewis  W.  Clark.  Smith 
was  the  Republican  member  of  the  supreme  court  in 
1875.  He  had  joined  his  Democratic  associates  in 
declining  to  give  an  opinion  to  the  legislature  on  the 
action  of  Governor  Weston  and  his  Council  in  the  con 
troversy  that  year  for  the  control  of  the  State  Senate. 
Clark  was  the  Democratic  Attorney-General  at  that 
time,  advising  Governor  Weston  and  his  Council  that 
they  had  the  right  to  go  behind  the  returns.  When 
the  Republican  legislature  of  1876  reorganized  the 
courts,  partisan  feeling  was  so  intense  that  Smith  was 
not  appointed  to  the  new  court.  The  recognition  of 
these  two  men  by  a  Republican  administration  seemed 
to  many  Republicans  to  condone  an  offence  which  the 


384  LIFE   OF  EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

people  of  the  State  only  a  year  before  had  condemned. 
For  a  time  this  action  of  Governor  Prescott  threatened 
his  renomination.  It,  however,  appeared  that  many 
leading  Republicans  of  the  State,  including  Rollins 
and  the  chairman  of  the  State  committee,  had  endorsed 
Smith,  and  that  both  he  and  Clark  had  the  unqualified 
endorsement  of  the  bar  of  the  State.  After  several 
weeks  of  agitation  in  the  press  of  the  State,  the  con 
troversy  gradually  subsided,  as  it  became  apparent  that 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  favored  Prescott's 
renomination. 

This  was  not  the  only  difficulty  which  beset  the 
Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire  at  this  time. 
There  was  a  marked  difference  of  opinion  regarding 
the  Southern  policy  of  President  Hayes.  Many  Re 
publicans  of  the  State  looked  upon  his  recognition  of 
the  Democratic  State  governments  in  South  Carolina 
and  Louisiana  as  a  capitulation  to  the  Democrats  and 
as  an  abandonment  of  the  political  rights  of  the 
negroes  of  the  South.  At  the  Republican  State  con 
vention  to  be  held  in  January,  the  question  of  the 
endorsement  of  President  Hayes's  policy  was  sure  to 
arise.  There  was  determined  opposition  to  this  policy, 
and  this  opposition  was  disclosed  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Republican  State  committee  held  the  night  before  the 
convention  to  arrange  for  the  organization  of  that  body. 
Newspaper  representatives  were  excluded  from  the 
meeting,  so  that  no  verbatim  report  of  the  proceedings 
survives.  Such  accounts  as  are  given  in  the  press 
agree  that  the  meeting  was  a  stormy  one,  the  debate 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGEESS  385 

becoming  at  times  personal  and  acrimonious.  The 
outcome,  however,  was  a  compromise.  Both  sides  were 
represented  on  the  committee  of  resolutions,  and  the 
platform  carefully  avoided  the  question  in  controversy. 
The  convention  met  January  9,  1878.  Charles  H. 
Bell,  of  Exeter,  presided,  and  Governor  Prescott  was 
renominated  by  acclamation.  The  platform  as  reported 
was  adopted  without  dissent.  In  spite  of  the  harmony 
of  the  convention,  there  was  a  lack  of  enthusiasm 
among  the  stalwart  Republicans  of  the  State,  and 
strenuous  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  State  committee 
were  necessary  to  arouse  them  to  activity.  While  sym 
pathizing  with  the  feelings  of  those  who  opposed  "  the 
surrender  of  the  President,"  as  it  was  called,  Rollins 
was  urgent  in  his  appeals  to  them  not  to  make  the 
situation  worse  by  contributing  to  Democratic  success. 
The  Democratic  State*  convention  met  January  16, 
1878.  Henry  O.  Kent,  of  Lancaster,  presided.  John 
H.  George,  of  Concord,  reported  the  resolutions.  A 
new  candidate  for  governor  was  looked  for,  as  Daniel 
Marcy,  of  Portsmouth,  had  received  the  customary 
two  nominations.  Among  the  names  canvassed  were 
those  of  Frank  A.  McKean,  who  had  been  twice  elected 
mayor  of  Nashua,  Warren  F.  Daniell,  of  Franklinr 
and  Horatio  Colony,  of  Keene.  Sentiment  crystallized 
about  McKean,  and  he  was  nominated  on  the  first 
ballot  without  opposition.  McKean  was  a  young  man, 
and  his  selection  was  regarded  by  the  party  as  a  new 
departure.  The  elections  in  the  fall  of  1877  had 
resulted  in  Democratic  victories,  largely  owing  to  dis- 


386  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

satisfaction  of  Republicans  with  President  Hayes's 
policy.  The  Democratic  leaders  of  New  Hampshire 
looked  for  a  similar  apathy  among  Republicans  of  the 
State.  Thus  for  a  time  they  were  somewhat  sanguine 
of  McKean's  election. 

The  campaign  which  followed  these  conventions  was 
a  remarkably  quiet  one  for  New  Hampshire.  Demo 
cratic  efforts  were  confined  to  perfecting  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  party.  There  was  but  very  little  campaign 
speaking,  no  man  of  national  prominence  being  brought 
into  the  State  by  either  side.  The  Labor  Reformers 
and  the  Prohibitionists  each  made  nominations,  Sam 
uel  Flint,  of  Lyme,  being  the  candidate  for  governor 
of  the  former,  and  Asa  S.  Kendall,  of  Swansey, 
the  candidate  of  the  Prohibitionists.  These  nom 
inations  were  merely  perfunctory  and  the  contest  was 
really  between  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties. 
The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Prescott  by  the 
people,  but  by  a  reduced  majority.  The  vote  was: 
Scattering,  80;  Asa  Kendall,  225;  Samuel  Flint, 
269;  Frank  A.  McKean,  37,860;  Benjamin  F.  Pres 
cott,  39,372. 

The  election  was  no  sooner  over  than  a  question 
arose  for  discussion  growing  out  of  the  change  from 
annual  to  biennial  elections  and  the  change  in  the  time 
of  holding  the  elections.  This  question  and  its  final 
outcome  had  an  important  bearing  upon  Rollins7 s 
political  future  and  therefore  should  be  considered  in 
detail. 

It  had  not  occurred  to  the  constitutional  convention 


IN    THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  387 

of  18  7"  6  that  these  changes,  without  altering  the  time 
of  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  would  create  a  hiatus 
in  the  succession  of  the  State  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  gives 
to  Congress  the  power  to  prescribe  the  times  and  man 
ner  of  holding  elections  for  United  States  Senators, 
and,  in  the  exercise  of  this  power,  Congress,  in  a  statute 
passed  July  25,  1866,  directed  that: 

"  The  legislature  of  each  State  which  is  chosen  next 
preceding  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  any 
Senator  was  elected  to  represent  such  State  in  Congress 
shall,  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  the  meeting  and 
organization  thereof,  proceed  to  elect  a  Senator  in 
Congress." 

The  amendments  of  the  constitution  of  New  Hamp 
shire  making  elections  biennial  instead  of  annual,  and 
changing  the  time  of  the  election  from  spring  to  fall, 
were  to  go  into  effect  October  1,  1878.  Consequently, 
a  second  State  election  would  occur  this  year,  being  the 
first  under  the  biennial  system.  The  legislature  chosen 
in  November,  1878,  would  not  meet  and  organize  until 
June,  1879.  The  legislature  which  had  been  elected 
in  March,  1878,  would  not  go  out  of  existence  until 
June,  1879.  The  term  in  the  United  States  Senate 
of  Senator  Wadleigh  expired  March  4,  1879.  Which 
legislature  had  the  right  to  elect  his  successor,  the  one 
elected  in  March,  1878,  organizing  in  June,  1878,  and 
expiring  in  June,  1879,  or  the  one  elected  in  Novem 
ber,  1878,  organizing  in  June,  1879,  and  expiring  two 
years  later  ?  Which  was  the  legislature  "  chosen  next 


388  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

preceding  the  expiration  of  the  term/'  etc.,  the  one 
in  existence  when  the  term  expired,  or  the  one  whose 
members  were  elected  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the 
Senatorial  term  but  who  did  not  qualify  as  legislators 
until  three  months  after  the  term  expired  ?  This  ques 
tion  now  arose  for  the  first  time,  and  did  not  cease  to 
be  a  question  until  after  Rollins's  defeat  for  reelection 
in  1883.  In  1881  it  caused  a  bolt  of  the  Republican 
Senatorial  caucus  on  the  constitutional  interpretation 
of  the  United  States  statute,  and  this  bolt  paved  the 
way  for  the  bolt  two  years  later  on  the  action  of  the 
Republican  Senatorial  caucus  in  renominating  Rollins. 
Senator  Wadleigh,  who  was  the  individual  most  in 
terested,  opened  the  discussion  in  a  letter  to  the  Repub 
lican  newspapers  of  the  State.  He  took  the  ground 
that  the  legislature  to  be  elected  in  November,  1878, 
and  organizing  in  June,  1879,  was  the  legislature 
which  had  the  undoubted  right  to  elect  his  successor. 
He  cited  as  a  precedent  the  unanimous  action  of  the 
United  States  Senate  in  the  Blodgett-Norwood  case, 
of  Georgia,  Foster  Blodgett,  a  Republican,  was  elected 
by  the  legislature  of  Georgia,  February  15,  1870,  for 
the  Senatorial  term  beginning  March  4,  1871.  Another 
legislature  was  chosen  in  November,  1870,  but  did  not 
meet  and  organize  until  November,  1871.  This  legis 
lature  elected  Thomas  Norwood,  a  Democrat,  to  the 
same  vacancy.  The  committee  on  privileges  and  elec 
tions  of  the  Senate  to  whom  the  question  was  referred 
reported  unanimously  in  favor  of  Norwood,  and  he 
was  seated  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Senate,  then 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  389 

Republican.  On  the  committee  of  privileges  and  elec 
tions  at  that  time  were  Charles  Sumner,  of  Massachu 
setts,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  Benjamin  F.  Rice, 
of  Arkansas,  Matthew  H.  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin, 
John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois,  Joshua  Hill,  of  Georgia, 
and  Allan  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio. 

William  E.  Stevens,  editor  of  the  Monitor,  took  up 
the  discussion,  stating  the  arguments  in  favor  of  and 
against  the  position  taken  by  Senator  Wadleigh,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  right  and 
duty  of  the  legislature  convening  in  June,  1878,  to 
elect  Senator  Wadleigh's  successor.  In  addition  to 
the  legal  argument  made  in  favor  of  this  course,  a 
political  reason  was  urged  in  its  favor.  The  spring 
election  of  1878  had  been  very  close.  The  Republi 
cans  had  elected  their  governor  and  a  majority  of  the 
legislature.  There  was  a  possibility  that  the  Demo 
crats  might  carry  the  State  in  the  fall  election.  It 
could  do  no  harm  for  the  Republicans  to  elect  a  Sen 
ator  by  the  legislature  convening  in  June,  1878,  even 
if  the  action  of  that  body  had  to  be  ratified  by  the 
legislature  to  be  elected  in  November,  1878.  The 
Democrats  generally  took  the  view  of  Wadleigh,  as, 
with  the  postponement  of  the  election  to  the  legislature 
organized  in  June,  1879,  they  had  another  opportunity 
to  carry  the  State  and  win  the  Senatorial  prize.  Harry 
Bingham,  however,  was  quoted  by  Wadleigh  as  affirm 
ing  that  the  legislature  meeting  in  June,  1878,  had 
the  right  to  elect  a  Senator.  The  Blodgett-Norwood 
case  seemed  to  show  what  action  the  United  States 


390  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Senate  would  take  in  the  event  of  a.  Senator  elected 
by  the  legislature  which  convened  in  June,  1878, 
applying  for  admission,  until  this  case  was  dissected 
by  William  E.  Chandler  in  a  personal  letter  to  Jona 
than  EL  Sargent,  a  member-elect  of  the  incoming  leg 
islature,  which  was  soon  after  published  in  the  Mon 
itor. 

Chandler  said :  "  My  first  impression  was  against 
the  right  (of  the  legislature  convening  in  June,  1878, 
to  elect),  owing  to  the  Blodgett-Norwood  case,  but  an 
examination  of  the  facts  there  removed  it  as  a  prece 
dent.  Blodgett  was  elected  February  15,  1870,  to  fill 
a  term  to  commence  March  4,  1871,  but,  when  he 
was  elected,  there  was  to  be  a  legislature  elected  in 
November,  1870,  to  meet  January,  1871.  Of  course 
Blodgett' s  election  was  illegal,  and  was  so  held  by  the 
Senate.  To  cure  its  illegality,  the  legislature  which 
elected  him  postponed  the  meeting  of  the  next  legisla 
ture  from  January,  1871,  to  November,  1871.  But 
this  subsequent  subterfuge  did  not  save  the  election, 
particularly  as  the  legislature  after  postponing  the 
meeting  of  its  successor  did  not  ratify  Blodgett's  elec 
tion  by  a  new  declaration.  It  was  a  trick,  and  void 
when  made  and  not  cured  by  subsequent  action.  This 
case  would  be  a  precedent  if  the  New  Hampshire  leg 
islature  to  be  chosen  next  November  were  to  meet 
January  1st,  not  otherwise. 

"  The  whole  intention  of  the  statute  of  July  25, 
1866,  was  to  prevent  vacancies  in  the  Senate,  not  to 
determine  which  was  the  proper  legislature  to  elect, 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  391 

and  to  prevent  one  branch  thereof  from  defeating  an 
election.  .  .  .  My  own  opinion  on  this  whole  subject 
is  not  wholly  fixed.  I  do  not  ask  a  reply  from  you,  but 
only  that  you  will  investigate  a  question  of  some 
difficulty  and  of  too  great  importance  to  the  Kepub- 
lican  party  to  be  decided  by  any  one  man  or  accord 
ing  to  the  personal  interest  of  any  individual,  but  as 
may  be  for  the  best  good  of  the  whole." 

Henry  W.  Blair,  then  a  member  of  the  national 
House  and  a  candidate  for  Senator  Wadleigh's  seat, 
secured  an  opinion  on  this  question  from  Matthew 
H.  Carpenter,  who  was  chairman  of  the  Senate  com 
mittee  on  privileges  and  elections  when  the  Blodgett- 
Norwood  case  was  decided.  Carpenter  agreed  with 
Chandler  that  this  case  was  not  parallel  to  that  of 
New  Hampshire.  He  also  took  the  ground  that  the 
legislature  meeting  in  June,  1878,  being  the  last  legis 
lature  organized  before  the  expiration  of  the  term, 
should  elect  a  Senator. 

Another  argument  for  an  election  by  the  legislature 
meeting  in  June,  1878,  was  that,  if  the  legislature  in 
being  at  the  time  the  Senatorial  term  expired  did  not 
fill  the  vacancy,  New  Hampshire  for  the  space  of  three 
months,  at  the  close  of  every  Senatorial  term,  would 
not  have  her  equal  representation  in  the  Senate  with 
other  States,  an  equality  guaranteed  by  the  federal 
constitution.  While  this  discussion  was  going  on,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  have  Congress  pass  some  declara 
tory  or  enabling  act  to  cover  the  New  Hampshire  sit 
uation.  Rollins  in  the  Senate  and  Blair  in  the  House 


392  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

appear  to  have  been  earnest  and  active  to  secure  such 
a  declaration.  The  time,  however,  was  short  in  which 
to  secure  such  a  result.  The  New  Hampshire  legis 
lature  met  while  this  discussion  was  going  on,  but, 
before  the  time  came  for  it  to  act,  a  report  was  made 
by  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections  of  the 
Senate  affirming  that  the  right  to  elect  a  Senator 
vested  in  the  legislature  which  would  meet  in  June, 
1879.  The  legislature  of  ISTew  Hampshire,  therefore, 
took  no  action,  for  it  was  apparently  useless  to  elect  a 
Senator  if  he  was  not  to  be  admitted  by  the  Senate. 
This  decision  of  the  Senate  was  not  accepted  as  final, 
for  some  Republicans,  and  especially  those  opposed 
to  Wadleigh's  reelection,  believed  that  his  position  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections 
had  some  influence  with  the  committee  in  securing 
from  it  the  report  made  to  the  Senate. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  1878,  the  Republican  State  committee  con 
vened  to  fix  the  times  and  places  of  meeting  of  the 
conventions  for  the  fall  campaign.  The  Republican 
State  convention  met  September  10,  1878.  It  was 
presided  over  by  Charles  H.  Burns,  of  Wilton,  and 
James  W.  Patterson,  of  Hanover,  reported  the  resolu 
tions.  There  was  an  earnest  rivalry  between  the 
friends  of  ETatt  Head,  of  Hooksett,  and  Charles  H. 
Bell,  of  Exeter,  to  secure  the  gubernatorial  nomina 
tion.  The  contest  was  settled  on  the  first  ballot  by  a 
vote  of  412  for  Head,  282  for  Bell,  and  6  scattering. 

For  Congress,  the  Republicans  renominated  James 


IN   THE   FORTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  393 

E.  Briggs  in  the  second  district,  while  Joshua  G.  Hall, 
of  Dover,  was  selected  on  the  first  ballot  in  the  first 
district.  In  the  third  district,  three  ballots  were 
necessary  to  effect  a  nomination.  The  leading  can 
didates  were  Ossian  Kay,  of  Lancaster,  Levi  W.  Bar 
ton,  of  Newport,  Chester  Pike,  of  Cornish,  and  Evarts 
W.  Farr,  of  Littleton,  the  latter  leading  on  the  first 
ballot  and  winning  on  the  third. 

Evarts  W.  Farr  was  a  young  man  of  great  promise. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  left  Dartmouth 
College  to  enlist  as  a  soldier  when  the  call  came  for 
volunteers,  and  he  was  the  first  man  to  sign  the  muster 
roll  at  Littleton.  Commissioned  as  lieutenant,  he  was 
successively  promoted  until  he  was  in  command  of  his 
regiment.  He  was  dangerously  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and  had  his  arm  ampu 
tated  on  the  field  of  battle.  Refusing  to  resign  on 
account  o  Ih'u  disability,  he  continued  in  the  service 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  Elected  to  Congress,  he 
rapidly  attained  distinction  when  his  public  career 
was  cut  short  by  his  untimely  death  after  his  second 
election  to  that  body. 

Joshua  G.  Hall  was  a  lawyer  in  good  standing  in 
his  section  of  the  State.  He  had  served  in  both 
branches  of  the  legislature  and  had  been  mayor  of 
Dover  for  two  terms.  At  the  time  of  his  nomination 
for  Congress,  he  was  serving  as  United  States  district 
attorney  by  appointment  of  President  Hayes. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  met  September 
12,  1878.  Hosea  W.  Parker,  of  Claremont,  presided. 


394  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Frank  A.  McKean  was  renominated  by  acclamation. 
At  the  Democratic  Congressional  conventions  Alvah 
W.  Sulloway,  of  Franklin,  was  renominated  in  the 
second  district,  and  Henry  0.  Kent,  of  Lancaster,  in 
the  third  district.  In  the  first  district,  Herbert  F. 
Norris,  of  Epping,  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot. 

ISTorris  was  one  of  the  young  Democrats  of  the  State 
who  had  come  into  prominence  through  his  service 
as  a  member  of  the  legislatures  of  1877  and  1878.  A 
ready  debater,  a  good  parliamentarian,  he  had  already 
developed  strong  qualities  of  leadership.  He  had  a 
good  legal  mind  and  would  have  made  a  success  at  the 
bar,  for  which  he  was  educated.  Drifting  into  jour 
nalism,  he  was  for  a  time  editorial  writer  on  the  M a/ri 
chest  er  Union.  Taking  up  his  residence  in  Boston 
not  long  after  this  service  to  the  politics  of  New 
Hampshire,  he  has  since  been  identified  with  the 
newspapers  of  that  city. 

The  Greenback  movement,  which  had  made  itself 
felt  in  other  States,  came  into  prominence  in  New 
Hampshire  during  this  campaign.  A  State  conven 
tion  at  which  362  delegates  were  present  was  held  at 
Manchester.  Cyrus  A.  Sulloway,  of  Manchester,  pre 
sided.  Warren  G.  Brown,  of  Whitefield,  was  nom 
inated  as  a  candidate  for  governor.  The  Greenback 
party  nominated  candidates  for  Congress  in  all  three 
districts,  Lafayette  Chesley,  of  Nottingham,  in  the 
first,  Cyrus  A.  Sulloway,  of  Manchester,  in  the  second, 
and  James  W.  Johnson  in  the  third. 


IN   THE   FORTY  -  FIFTH    CONGRESS  395 

Cyrus  A.  Sulloway's  career  in  New  Hampshire  poli 
tics  is  unique.  His  political  mistakes  in  early  life,  due 
to  an  impulsive  and  generous  temperament,  retarded 
his  advancement.  They  were  overlooked,  however,  by 
reason  of  his  frankness  in  admitting  them.  Of  com 
manding  stature,  original  expression,  and  strong  mental 
equipment,  he  is  popular  in  campaigns.  He  served 
many  terms  in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature.  Re 
turning  to  full  accord  with  the  Republican  party  in 
the  campaign  of  1892,  he  was  elected  to  the  fifty-fourth 
Congress,  and  has  since  been  reflected  four  times.  For 
the  last  three  Congresses  he  has  been  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Invalid  Pensions. 

There  was  a  large  number  of  Republican  rallies 
during  the  fall  campaign  of  1878.  In  addition  to  his 
work  in  the  State  committee1,  Rollins  was  active  upon 
the  stump.  William  P.  Frye,  of  Maine,  opened  the 
campaign  at  Manchester.  With  the  exception  of  Frye, 
there  were  no  outside  speakers  of  national  reputation, 
and  the  people  of  the  State  realized  for  the  first  time 
that  the  New  Hampshire  election,  by  its  transfer  from 
March  to  November,  had  lost  its  national  importance. 
From  this  time  forward  both  New  Hampshire  Repub 
licans  and  Democrats  had  to  depend  largely  upon  local 
talent  for  campaign  speaking. 

The  election  resulted  in  a  complete  victory  for  the 
Republican  party.  The  vote  for  governor  was:  Scat 
tering,  129;  Warren  G.  Brown,  6,385;  Frank  A. 
McKean,  31,083;  Natt  Head,  38,085.  The  Republi- 


396  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

can  plurality  in  the  first  Congressional  district  was 
2,502,  in  the  second  2,941,  and  in  the  third,  952. 
The  Kepuhlicans  had  a  very  large  majority  in  the 
legislature. 


CHAPTEE   XXI. 

ROLLINS  IN  THE  FORTY  -  SIXTH   CONGRESS 

THE  forty-sixth  Congress  was  convened  in  extra 
session  March  18,  1879.  There  was  a  vacancy  in  the 
Senate  from  New  Hampshire  because  of  the  expira 
tion  of  Senator  Wadleigh's  term,  no  successor  having 
been  chosen  by  the  legislature.  Governor  Prescott  ap 
pointed  Charles  H.  Bell,  of  Exeter,  to  fill  the  vacancy, 
and  Senator  Rollins  presented  his  credentials.  Objec 
tion  was  made  to  receiving  the  credentials  on  the 
ground  that  this  was  not  such  a  vacancy  as  the  execu 
tive  of  the  State  could  fill  by  appointment.  The  con 
stitution  provides  that  "  if  vacancies  happen  by  resig 
nation  or  otherwise  during  the  recess  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  any  State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make 
temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the 
legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies."  Did 
this  vacancy  so  happen  within  the  meaning  of  the  con 
stitution  that  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  could 
fill  it  by  appointment?  If  the  governor  of  a  State 
could  fill  any  vacancy  occurring  during  a  recess  of 
the  legislature,  why  had  not  the  constitution  so  pro 
vided  in  express  terms  ?  It  was  generally  admitted 
that  the  legislature  could  so  far  fail  of  its  duty  that 

397 


398  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.    ROLLINS 

the  executive  of  the  State  could  not  fill  the  vacancy 
by  appointment.  Was  the  New  Hampshire  vacancy 
such  a  case  ? 

The  situation  in  New  Hampshire  was  exceptional, 
as  has  already  been  explained.  A  doubt  existed  as  to 
which  of  two  legislatures  had  the  right  to  elect  Senator 
Wadleigh's  successor.  The  question  had  been  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  previous  Senate,  and  that  body 
had  permitted  it  to  be  understood  that,  without  an 
enabling  act,  the  legislature  of  June,  1878,  could  not 
fill  the  vacancy.  The  Senate  had  passed  an  enabling 
act  which  failed  of  becoming  a  law  in  conference  of 
the  two  Houses  of  Congress.  The  State  of  New 
Hampshire  had  acted  upon  the  best  light  it  could 
obtain,  for  the  Senate  was  the  "  judge  of  the  election, 
returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  members."  Of  what 
use  was  it  for  the  legislature  of  1878  to  elect  a  Senator 
if  he  was  not  likely  to  be  admitted  ?  Should  New 
Hampshire  be  deprived  of  her  equal  representation 
in  the  Senate  because  there  was  no  legislature  quali 
fied  to  continue  her  Senatorial  succession  in  that  body  ? 
All  of  these  questions  entered  into  the  discussion 
which  followed  the  presenting  of  Bell's  credentials, 
and  the  equities  of  the  case  had  something  to  do  with 
settling  it  in  Bell's  favor.  Replying  to  the  objection 
made  to  Bell's  credentials,  Senator  Rollins  said: 

"  Mr.  President,  before  action  is  taken  on  the  pend 
ing  question  I  desire  to  submit  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Senate  such  precedents  as  I  find  which  in  my 
judgment  are  entitled  to  weight  in  the  consideration 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  399 

of  this  case.  After  a  most  careful  and  diligent  scru 
tiny  of  the  records  of  the  Senate  from  the  foundation 
of  the  government  down  to  the  present  time,  I  have 
found  the  following  cases  only  of  appointments  made 
to  fill  a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  expiration  of  a  term 
of  office: 

"  William  Cocke,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Ten 
nessee,  whose  term  of  service  expired  March  3,  1797, 
was  on  the  22 d  of  April,  1797,  appointed  by  the  gov 
ernor  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  expiration 
of  his  term.  His  credentials  were  presented  May  15, 
1797,  and  he  was  admitted  without  objection. 

"  Uriah  Tracy,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Con 
necticut,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1801,  was 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  at  the  special  ses 
sion  called  March  4,  1801,  under  the  appointment  of 
the  governor.  Exceptions  being  taken  to  his  creden 
tials,  he  was  admitted  by  a  vote  of  thirteen  yeas  to 
ten  nays,  and  held  his  seat  until  he  was  elected  by 
the  legislature  in  May  following. 

"  William  Hindman,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of 
Maryland,  whose  term  of  office  expired  March  3,  1801, 
was  appointed  by  the  governor  March  4,  1801,  and 
was  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  March  5, 
1801,  without  objection.  He  served  until  the  election 
of  his  successor. 

"  John  Condit  was  appointed  Senator  from  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  September  1,  1803,  in  place  of 
Aaron  Ogden,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1803.  He 
was  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  October  17, 


400  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

1803,  without  objection,  and  held  his  seat  until  his 
election  by  the  legislature  in  November  following. 
In  this  case  the  appointment  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  made  until  a  vacancy  actually  existed,  which  is 
identical  with  the  case  under  consideration. 

"  Joseph  Anderson,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of 
Tennessee,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1809,  was 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  at  the  extra  ses 
sion  convened  March  4,  1809,  without  question,  under 
an  appointment  from  the  governor  of  his  State.  He 
served  until  he  was  elected  by  the  legislature. 

"  Samuel  Smith,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Mary 
land,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1809,  was  admitted 
as  a  member  of  the  Senate  at  the  special  session  March 
4,  1809,  under  an  appointment  by  the  executive.  He 
was  admitted  without  objection  and  held  his  seat  until 
elected  by  the  legislature  in  November  following. 

"  Charles  Cutts,  a  Senator  from .  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1813,  was 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  at  the  special  ses 
sion  on  May  24,  1813,  without  question,  under  the 
appointment  of  the  governor  of  his  State,  and  served 
until  the  election  of  Jeremiah  Mason  in  June  fol 
lowing. 

"  John  Williams,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Ten 
nessee,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1817,  was  ad 
mitted  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  at  the  extra  session 
called  March  4,  1817,  without  objection,  under  an 
appointment  by  the  executive,  —  his  credentials  hav 
ing  been  read  and  filed  during  the  previous  session,  — 


IN   THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  401 

and  held  his  seat  until  reflected  by  the  legislature  in 
October  following. 

"  James  Lanman,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Con 
necticut,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1825,  was 
appointed  by  the  governor  February  8,  1825,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  which  would  occur  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term.  His  credentials  were  presented  at  the  called 
session  March  4,  1825,  and  question  being  raised, 
the  decision  of  the  Senate  was  adverse  to  his  right. 
The  Senate  in  this  case,  as  is  shown  by  the  report  of 
the  committee,  decided  that  a  vacancy  could  not  be 
filled  by  a  governor  until  it  actually  existed.  The 
Lanman  case  also  differs  from  that  of  Mr.  Bell  in  this : 
that  the  legislature  of  Connecticut  which  had  held  its 
annual  session  the  May  previous,  notwithstanding  it 
had  a  legal  right  to  elect  a  Senator,  failed  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 

"  Ambrose  H.  Sevier,  a  Senator  from  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  whose  term  expired  March  3,  1837,  was 
appointed  by  the  governor  January  17,  1837,  to 
fill  the  vacancy  which  would  occur  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term.  At  the  called  session  March  4,  1837, 
objection  was  made,  but  he  was  admitted. 

"  In  both  cases  of  Lanman  and  Sevier,  the  appoint 
ments  were  made  in  anticipation  of  a  vacancy  which 
would  occur  at  some  future  time.  Such  was  the  fact 
in  the  cases  of  Messrs.  Tracy,  Anderson,  and  Will 
iams,  and  the  decision  in  the  Lanman  case  stands  alone 
against  all  the  others. 

"  The   appointments   of   Messrs.    Cocke,   Hindman, 


402  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Condit,  Smith,  and  Cutts  appear  to  have  been  made 
after  the  vacancy  actually  occurred,  and  they  were 
admitted  without  question. 

"  These  are  all  the  cases  found  in  the  records  where 
an  appointment  has  been  made  by  the  executive  of 
any  State  to  fill  a  vacancy  occurring  by  the  expiration 
of  a  term  of  office. 

"  In  three  cases,  —  those  of  Messrs.  Tracy,  Lan- 
man,  and  Sevier,  —  appointments  made  in  anticipation 
of  a  vacancy  about  to  occur,  question  was  made;  and 
in  two  of  these  cases,  Tracy  and  Sevier,  the  appointees 
were  admitted.  In  the  other  case  he  was  rejected.  In 
five  cases,  where  the  appointment  was  made  after  the 
vacancy  actually  occurred,  the  appointees  were  ad 
mitted  without  question. 

"  In  the  case  under  consideration  the  appointment 
was  made  after  the  vacancy  actually  occurred,  the 
credentials  bearing  date  of  March  13,  1879,  the 
appointment  having  been  made  by  the  executive  of 
New  Hampshire  after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
Senator  Wadleigh,  and  subsequent  to  the  call  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  for  an  extra  session  of 
Congress. 

"The  act  of  Congress  of  July  25,  1866,  requires 
that  Senators  shall  be  elected  by  the  legislature 
'  chosen  next  preceding  the  expiration '  of  any  term. 
By  reason  of  a  change  in  the  constitution  of  New 
Hampshire  which  took  effect  October  1,  1878,  two 
legislatures  were  chosen  in  the  year  1878,  one  in 
March  under  the  old  constitution,  whose  term  of  office 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  403 

commenced  in  June,  1878,  and  will  continue  to  June, 
1879,  and  the  other  in  November,  whose  term  of  office 
will  not  commence  until -June,  1879,  and  will  con 
tinue  to  June,  1881. 

"  Upon  a  bill  being  introduced  into  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  in  June,  1878,  to  define  which  of  these 
two  legislatures  had  the  power  to  elect  a  successor  to 
Mr.  Wadleigh,  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elec 
tions  made  a  report  (No.  485)  that  only  the  legisla 
ture  chosen  in  November,  1878,  had  the  power,  which 
report  was  adopted  by  the  Senate.  The  legislature 
chosen  in  March,  therefore,  took  no  steps  to  elect  a 
successor  to  Mr.  Wadleigh.  But  the  legislature  chosen 
in  November,  1878,  cannot  be  assembled  until  June, 
1879.  Therefore,  in  March,  1879,  when  the  vacancy 
occurred,  there  was  no  legislature  in  being  or  capable 
of  being  assembled  with  power  to  elect  a  Senator.  On 
the  principle  of  the  Sevier  case,  therefore,  the  gov 
ernor  had  the  right  of  appointment. 

"  In  these  circumstances,  with  these  precedents,  I 
hope  the  oath .  of  office  will  be  administered  to  Mr. 
Bell.  Then,  if  it  is  desirable  to  make  any  inquiry, 
the  credentials  may  be  referred  to  the  committee  on 
privileges  and  elections." 

Objection  still  being  made  to  the  acceptance  of 
Bell's  credentials,  they  were  referred  to  the  committee 
on  privileges  and  elections,  before  whom  Rollins  ap 
peared  in  advocacy  of  Bell's  admission.  The  com 
mittee  reported  its  findings  to  the  Senate,  April  2d, 
in  majority  and  minority  reports,  the  division  of  the 


404  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

committee  being  along  party  lines.  The  Democratic 
majority  reported  against  Bell's  admission  and  the 
Republican  minority  in  f  aivor  of  it.  The  debate  which 
followed  covered  all  the  points  at  issue  and  was  par 
ticipated  in  by  some  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  Sen 
ate.  Although  the  committee  divided  on  party  lines, 
this  was  not  the  case  with  the  Senate,  the  strongest 
argument  against  Bell's  admission  being  made  by 
Senator  Matthew  H.  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin,  Repub 
lican,  and  the  most  effective  in  his  favor  by  Senator 
Thomas  F.  Bayard,  of  Delaware,  Democrat.  The 
Democrats  had  eight  majority  in  the  Senate,  so  the 
admission  of  Bell  would  not  affect  their  supremacy 
in  that  body.  The  discussion  was  entirely  free  from 
partisan  references.  The  opponents  of  Bell's  admis 
sion  claimed  that  the  Lanman  case  did  more  than 
settle  the  point  made  by  Rollins,  that  the  governor 
could  not  appoint  until  after  a  vacancy  actually 
occurred,  that  it  really  determined  that  the  executive 
could  not  appoint  when  the  legislature  had  an  oppor 
tunity  to  act  and  failed  to  do  its  duty.  They  also 
asserted  that  the  precedent  established  in  the  Lanmari 
case  had  not  been  departed  from  by  the  Senate  since 
that  time,  as  the  Sevier  case,  which  occurred  later, 
differed  from  the  Lanman  case  in  that  Sevier  and  his 
colleague  from  Arkansas  were  Senators  chosen  prior 
to  the  admission  of  the  State,  and  had  to  determine 
between  themselves  by  lot  the  length  of  their  terms 
as  required  by  the  constitution,  and  that  the  legisla 
ture  could  not  know  in  advance  which  would  draw 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  405 

the  short  term  expiring  while  the  legislature  was  not 
in  session. 

In  the  course  of  the  debate,  the  action  of  the  pre 
vious  Senate  in  declaring  that  the  legislature  of  June, 
1878,  had  not  the  right  to  choose  Wadleigh's  successor 
came  up  for  consideration  and  criticism.  Senators 
Conkling  and  Kernan,  of  New  York,  Elaine,  of 
Maine,  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin,  Davis,  of  Illinois, 
McDonald,  of  Indiana,,  Hill,  of  Georgia,  Beck,  of 
Kentucky,  and  Eaton,  of  Connecticut,  repudiated  it, 
Senator  Eaton  going  so  far  as  to  intimate  that  the 
opinion  of  the  Senate  was  secured  by  a  trick.  Cam 
eron,  of  Wisconsin,  defended  the  McMillan  report, 
and  his  view  that  the  legislature  of  1878  had  not  the 
right  to  elect  Wadleigh's  successor  received  the  sup 
port  of  Bayard,  Dawes,  and  other  Senators.  So  far 
as  disclosed,  the  opposition  of  most  of  Bell's  opponents 
was  that  the  legislature  of  June,  1878,  had  the  right 
to  elect  a  Senator  and  had  failed  to  do  its  duty.  Rol 
lins,  who  was  championing  Bell's  admission,  wisely 
refrained  from  discussing  the  question  which  legis 
lature  of  New  Hampshire  had  the  right  to  elect  Wad 
leigh's  successor,  but  based  his  reply  to  the  objections 
raised  to  Bell's  admission  on  the  equities  of  the  case 
as  shown  by  the  facts  presented  in  their  relation  to 
the  precedents  of  the  Senate.  In  his  second  speech  in 
this  debate,  he  said: 

"  As  we  understand  the  Lanman  case,  Mr.  Bell's 
application  does  not  conflict  with  it  at  all.  It  may  be 
summed  up  in  a  few  words.  In  that  case  a  legislature 


406  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

competent  to  elect  had  met  and  failed  to  elect  a  Sena 
tor.  In  this  case  no  legislature  met  prior  to  his 
appointment  that  was  competent  to  elect.  The  Senate 
of  the  United  States  had  so  decided.  In  the  case  of 
Mr.  Lanman,  the  appointment  was  made  in  anticipa 
tion  of  a  vacancy.  In  this  case,  the  appointment  was 
not  made  until  after  the  vacancy  happened,  so  that 
it  makes  no  difference  whatever  for  the  present  pur 
pose  how  you  construe  the  Lanman  case.  If  you  say 
that  it  turned  upon  the  question  of  the  appointment  of 
the  governor  prior  to  the  happening  of  the  vacancy, 
then  it  is  not  a  precedent  to  govern  in  this  case.  If 
you  say  that  it  turned  upon  the  other  point  (and 
that  I  am  inclined  to  think  is  the  true  state  of  the 
case),  if  it  turned  upon  the  point  made  by  the  Senator 
from  Tennessee  that  a  legislature  competent  to  fill  the 
vacancy  having  once  been  in  session  and  that  legisla 
ture  having  failed  to  perform  its  clear  duty,  the  power 
of  the  governor  was  exhausted  and  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  did  right  in  rejecting  Mr.  Lanman. 
Still  that  is  not  this  case.  No  legislature  of  New 
Hampshire  has  ever  been  in  session  nor  could  any  leg 
islature  have  been  convened  prior  to  the  vacancy  that 
could  elect  a  Senator  to  fill  the  vacancy,  if  the  deci 
sion  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  upon  that  ques 
tion  last  June  is  the  correct  decision.  A  single  sug 
gestion  further,  Mr.  President,  as  to  one  other  point. 
There  may  be  some  who  believe  that  the  legislature 
of  New  Hampshire  which  held  its  session  in  June, 
1878,  should  have  elected  a  Senator  to  succeed  Sen- 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  407 

ator  Wadleigh,  whose  term  was  then  about  to  expire. 
There  was  some  conflict  of  opinion  about  this  among 
lawyers,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee 
of  the  Senate,  and,  upon  their  report,  the  Senate  (the 
final  tribunal  for  the  decision  of  such  questions)  denied 
the  right  of  that  legislature  to  elect.  This  construc 
tion  of  the  law  made  by  the  only  tribunal  authorized 
to  act  thereon  was  accepted  as  binding.  The  legisla 
ture  could  not  be  expected  to  elect  in  the  face  of  that 
decision,  and,  if  that  decision  was  wrong  and  a, 
vacancy  happened  thereby,  the  State  ought  not  to 
suffer.77 

It  is  apparent  that  a  number  of  the  Senators  who 
voted  in  favor  of  Bell's  admission  were  influenced  to 
do  so  by  the  situation  in  which  New  Hampshire  had 
been  placed  by  the  action  of  the  previous  Senate. 
Bell's  cause  was  ably  championed  by  Senators  Hoar, 
of  Massachusetts,  Blaine,  of  Maine,  Cameron,  of  Wis 
consin,  McMillan,  of  Michigan,  Republicans,  and 
Bayard,  of  Delaware,  McDonald,  of  Indiana,  Jones, 
of  Florida,  and  Groome,  of  Maryland,  Democrats. 
He  also  had  the  support  of  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  al 
though  the  latter  was  absent  when  the  vote  was  taken. 
The  vote  stood  35  in  favor  to  29  against,  and  Bell  was 
sworn  in  as  a  Senator.  Senators  Carpenter  and  Conk- 
ling,  Republicans,  and  Davis,  Independent,  voted 
against  Bell's  admission,  while  ten  Democrats  voted 
in  his  favor. 

Rollins  was  entitled  to,  and  received  credit  for,  the 
skill  with  which  he  handled  the  Bell  case.  Very  few 


408  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

people  in  New  Hampshire  had  confidence  in  Bell's 
admission  to  the  Senate.  The  Democratic  party  had 
come  into  control  of  that  body  for  the  first  time  since 
1861,  and  the  extra  session  opened  with  political 
debates  in  both  houses.  The  Lanman  case  was  gen 
erally  regarded  as  an  adverse  and  well-established 
precedent.  The  Senate  which  gave  the  opinion  that 
prevented  the  legislature  of  June,  1878,  from  electing 
a  Senator  had  a  Republican  majority.  Of  that  Sen 
ate  some  twenty  or  more  had  been  retired  to  private 
life  and  new  men  had  taken  their  places.  It  was  a 
good  deal  to  expect  that  even  the  equities  of  the  case 
would  prevail  with  the  new  Democratic  majority. 
New  Hampshire  had  changed  her  constitution  with 
the  full  knowledge  of  the  United  States  statute  of 
1866.  The  Republican  party  had  controlled  the  con 
stitutional  convention  of  1ST 6.  The  Republican  party 
in  the  legislature  of  1877  had  fixed  the  time  for  the 
constitutional  amendment  to  go  into  effect.  The 
Republican  party  again  in  1878  had  appealed  to  a 
Republican  Senate  to  interpret  the  work  of  the  con 
stitutional  convention.  If  the  opinion  of  the  previous 
Senate  had  been  obtained  by  a  trick,  as  Senator  Eaton 
intimated  in  the  debate,  there  was  no  obligation  rest 
ing  upon  the  Democratic  majority  of  this  Senate  to 
set  the  matter  right.  No  just  complaint  could  have 
been  made  if  the  Democratic  Senators  had  stood  to 
gether  in  refusing  to  admit  Bell  as  a  Senator.  The 
decision  of  the  Senate,  therefore,  came  as  a  surprise 
to  both  Republicans  and  Democrats  of  New  Hamp- 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  409 

shire.  The  Exeter  News  Letter,  whose  editor  was  in 
Washington  at  the  time,  and  who  was  intensely  inter 
ested  in  Bell's  case,  had  this  to  say  of  Rollins's  part 
in  the  contest: 

"  To  Senator  Rollins  of  New  Hampshire  must  be 
accredited  the  work  of  preparing  the  case  for  presenta 
tion  to  the  Senate.  From  first  to  last  he  steadfastly 
maintained  and  contended  for  the  right  of  his  State 
to  full  representation  in  the  Senate,  all  hair-splitting 
objections  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  He  pro 
duced  an  overwhelming  array  of  precedent  cases,  all 
of  which  sustained  the  demand  for  admission.  These 
cases  he  submitted  in  an  argument  before  the  Senate, 
and  the  minority  of  the  committee  embodied  them  in 
its  report.  Mr.  Rollins  also  spoke  in  a  long  debate 
that  followed  the  report,  making  one  of  the  strongest 
speeches  of  that  discussion." 

The  Democrats  being  in  control  of  the  Senate,  Rol 
lins,  with  other  members  of  the  minority  party,  took 
lower  places  on  committees.  Rollins  was  assigned  to 
the  committees  on  manufactures,  District  of  Colum 
bia,  civil  service  and  entrenchment  and  enrolled  bills. 
Later,  he  was  made  a  member  of  two  special  committees, 
one  on  the  Yorktown  centennial  celebration,  and  the 
other,  contagious  diseases  among  cattle.  His  principal 
committee  work  was  on  that  of  the  District  of  Colum 
bia,  the  record  showing  him  reporting  a  large  number 
of  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  District,  debating 
their  provisions,  and  working  to  secure  legislative 
action. 


410  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

At  this  date  and  for  some  years  after,  all  appropria 
tion  bills  were  in  the  control  of  the  committee  on 
appropriations  of  the  Senate.  There  existed  opposi 
tion  to  the  rule  that  referred  all  these  bills  to  that 
committee,  for  the  reason  that  it  placed  large  power 
in  the  hands  of  a  very  few  men.  Rollins,  early  in  the 
session,  introduced  a  resolution  to  amend  the  rules  so 
as  to  divide  the  work  of  the  appropriation  committee. 
His  resolution  left  the  committee  on  appropriations 
the  legislative^  deficiency,  and  sundry  civil  appropria 
tion  bills,  but  gave  to  the  committees  on  military 
affairs,  naval  affairs,  foreign  relations,  Indian  affairs, 
post-offices,  commerce,  District  of  Columbia,  pensions, 
public  buildings  and  grounds,  and  agriculture  the 
appropriation  bills  relating  to  the  subjects  usually 
referred  to  these  committees.  This  was  a  most  radical 
change  of  rules,  and  the  resolution  was  referred  to  the 
committee  on  rules,  where  it  was  kept  for  the  re 
mainder  of  the  Congress.  Within  a  few  years  a  divi 
sion  of  the  appropriation  bills  among  the  various  com 
mittees  of  the  Senate  has  taken  place  along  the  lines 
suggested  by  Rollins,  but  the  present  practice  is  not 
so  sweeping  a  change  as  was  indicated  by  his  resolution. 

The  time  of  this  Congress  was  taken  up  largely  with 
the  consideration  of  political  matters,  the  Democrats 
devoting  much  time  through  their  control  of  the  com 
mittees  of  both  Houses  to  investigating  the  departments 
of  government  and  elections  in  some  of  the  Northern 
States.  Some  of  these  investigations  were  the  work 
of  the  committee  on  civil  service  and  retrenchment,  of 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SIXTH    CONGRESS  411 

which  Rollins  was  a  member  and  Butler,  of  South  Car 
olina,,  chairman.  Toward  the  close  of  the  second  session 
Rollins  made  a  political  speech  reviewing  the  work 
of  these  investigating  committees.  Like  all  of  his 
political  speeches,  it  was  not  only  pointed  but  exasper 
ating  to  the  Democrats.  Fortified  by  the  facts  pre 
sented  to  the  committee  of  which  he  was  a  member,  ho 
made  comparison  of  election  methods  North  and  South, 
which  was  especially  provoking  to  Senators  Butler,  of 
South  Carolina,  and  Lamar,  of  Mississippi.  Both 
resented  the  imputations  put  upon  their  States  by 
Rollins' s  exhibits  and  gave  notice  of  intention  to 
reply  formally.  Congress,  however,  adjourned  sine 
die  within  a  short  time  without  either  Senator  making 
specific  answer  to  the  charges.  The  debate  on  the 
questions  raised  by  these  investigations  continued  to 
the  close  of  the  session. 

Rollins  also  made  a  speech  in  opposition  to  a  bill 
providing  for  the  promotion  of  certain  naval  officers. 
This  was  one  of  those  measures  intended  to  give  ad 
vance  rank  to  certain  officers  of  the  navy  who,  it  was 
claimed,  had  been  slighted  by  the  Navy  Department  in 
its  general  provisions  for  promotions.  After  showing 
by  the  records  that  no  injustice  had  been  done  them, 
he  objected  to  the  practice  of  Congress  interfering  in 
such  matters  as  demoralizing  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
service.  This  was  the  beginning  of  some  very  effective 
work  on  his  part  in  behalf  of  the  navy,  for  in  the  next 
Congress  he  became  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
naval  affairs. 


CHAPTEE    XXII. 

EVENTS    IN    NEW    HAMPSHIRE 

IT  had  been  foreshadowed  for  some  time  that  Sen 
ator  Wadleigh  was  to  have  opposition  to  his  return 
to  the  Senate.  As  soon  as  the  fall  election  of  1878 
was  over,  the  contest  for  a  seat  in  the  Senate  began. 
Wadleigh's  leading  opponent  was  Henry  W.  Blair, 
whose  second  term  as  Congressman  expired  with  the 
forty-fifth  Congress.  Blair  developed  a  remarkable 
personal  following,  which  he  successfully  held  for 
many  years.  All  of  his  campaigns  were  directed  by 
himself  and  he  was  without  an  equal  in  New  Hamp 
shire  politics  in  the  art  of  attaching  men  to  his  polit 
ical  fortunes.  Loyal  to  his  supporters  and  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  party,  accepting  criticism  without  com 
plaint,  a  philosopher  in  every  emergency,  he  triumphed 
over  varied  opposition.  He  had  the  courage  of  his  con 
victions  and  did  not  hesitate  to  champion  an  unpopular 
cause.  His  obliging  disposition  and  readiness  to  give 
every  subject  a  hearing  attached  his  name  to  projects 
for  which  he  was  in  no  wise  responsible  and  which 
never  received  his  direct  approval.  The  obloquy  he 
incurred  on  this  account  at  no  time  drew  from  him 
explanation  or  apology,  although  it  affected  contempo- 

412 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  413 

raneous  judgment  of  his  ability.  His  educational  bill, 
a  national  measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  South,  which 
just  failed  of  success,  would  have  been  the  solution 
of  some  of  the  present  problems  of  that  section  of  the 
country.  After  serving  two  terms  in  the  Senate,  he 
was  again  returned  to  the  national  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  redeeming  a  district  which  had  been  twice 
lost  by  the  Republican  party.  His  service  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress  covered  a  period  of  eighteen  years, 
a  record  made  by  only  one  of  his  predecessors  in  New 
Hampshire. 

Other  avowed  candidates  for  Wadleigh's  seat  were 
Orrin  C.  Moore,  Oilman  Marston,  and  Aaron  F.  Ste 
vens,  the  last  two  being  members  of  the  incoming 
legislature.  Marston  was  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  Civil 
War,  an  able  lawyer,  and  had  served  three  terms  in 
Congress.  During  his  service  in  the  ISTew  Hampshire 
legislature,  he  invariably  held  the  position  of  chairman 
of  the  judiciary  committee.  In  this  place  he  was  of 
unquestioned  service  to  the  State  in  preventing  crude 
and  unnecessary  legislation.  He  did  not  often  par 
ticipate  in  debate,  but,  when  he  did,  the  House  was 
frequently  carried  by  the  strength  of  his  argument  and 
his  eloquence.  He  had  a  gruff  exterior,  but  underneath 
the  surface  lay  a  disposition  susceptible  of  emotion  and 
sympathy.  His  ambition,  gratified  only  by  executive 
appointment  later  to  fill  a  vacancy,  was  to  go  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  He  had  been  a  candidate  with 
considerable  support  as  early  as  1864,  and  he  continued 
to  hope  for  an  election  until  the  close  of  his  active  life. 


414  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

This  ambition  was  not  without  its  influence  on  his  pub 
lic  career  and  caused  him  to  bend  frequently  before 
clouds  threatening  popular  disfavor.  It  was  his  weak 
ness,  yet  to  the  last  there  was  a  profound  admiration 
for  his  ability,  which  ranked  him  as  one  of  the  intel 
lectually  great  men  of  the  State. 

Stevens  was  the  Republican  party  leader  on  the 
floor  for  many  legislative  sessions.  He,  too,  had  served 
with  distinction  in  the  Civil  War,  while  in  civil  life 
he  had  attained  national  distinction.  He  was  twice 
elected  to  Congress,  where  his  ability  was  recognized, 
but  he  failed  of  a  third  election  by  just  a  few  votes. 
In  all  the  political  contests  of  the  legislatures  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  the  burden  of  defending  the  Repub 
lican  cause  against  the  assaults  of  such  Democratic 
leaders  as  Harry  Bingham  and  John  G.  Sinclair  de 
volved  upon  him.  In  debate  and  parliamentary  pro 
cedure  he  demonstrated  again  and  again  his  capacity 
for  leadership.  The  party  was  undoubtedly  indebted 
to  him  for  many  of  its  legislative  triumphs.  Stevens 
was  a  man  of  commanding  presence,  and  to  those  who 
did  not  enjoy  his  intimate  acquaintance  his  manner 
sometimes  seemed  haughty  and  repelling,  but  his 
friends  were  devoted  and  loyal.  He,  too,  had  been 
an  aspirant  for  the  United  States  Senate,  having  en 
tered  the  lists  in  1870  as  a  candidate  against  Aaron  H. 
Cragin  when  the  latter  was  seeking  reelection.  His 
canvass  at  this  time  was  conducted  with  great  shrewd 
ness.  Being  the  first  choice  of  only  a  small  number 
of  members,  he  secured  a  large  number  of  pledges  as 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  415 

second  choice.  His  vote  grew  after  the  first  ballot, 
and  the  contest  finally  narrowed  to  a  choice  between 
him  and  Blair.  Had  Stevens  been  nominated  it  might 
have  had  an  important  bearing  on  the  election  of  Rol- 
lins's  successor  two  years  later.  Certainly  it  would 
have  removed  from  the  arena  one  of  the  leading  oppo 
nents  to  Rollins' s  reelection. 

The  Republican  legislative  caucus  was  held  the  week 
preceding  the  time  for  the  election  of  a  Senator  by  the 
legislature.  Nine  ballots  were  necessary  to  a  choice, 
which  resulted  in  Blair's  favor.1 

The  campaign  of  1880,  in  New  Hampshire,  early 
gave  promise  of  being  closely  contested.  The  Demo 
crats  fixed  upon  Frank  Jones,  of  Portsmouth,  as  their 
candidate  for  governor.  He  had  twice  carried  the  first 
Congressional  district  as  a  candidate  for  Congress, 
and  his  party  had  strong  hopes  of  electing  him  as 
its  gubernatorial  candidate.  The  party  also  made 
special  efforts  to  strengthen  the  ticket  in  its  Congres- 

8th  9th 


1st 

2d 

3d 

4th 

5th 

6th 

7th 

1  Chandler 

1 

Bell 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Harriman 

1 

Tappan 

Doe 

2 

1 

1 

Briggs 

2 

2 

5 

2 

2 

Prescott 

2 

4 

3 

• 

Patterson 

6 

3 

4 

3 

1 

Stevens 

20 

22 

30 

49 

58 

60 

79 

Marston 

22 

23 

23 

26 

26 

20 

4 

Moore 

23 

28 

28 

28 

32 

32 

25 

Wadleigh 

45 

40 

32 

9 

1 

1 

Blair 

68 

67 

66 

64 

64 

70 

76 

91        92 


91        94 


416  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

sional  nominations.  The  Republican  nomination  for 
governor  was  settled  in  advance  of  the  convention. 
Charles  H.  Bell,  of  Exeter,  who  had  been  a  candidate 
for  the  nomination  in  the  previous  convention  and  who 
had  served  for  three  months  in  the  Senate  by  executive 
appointment,  was  the  choice  of  the  entire  party.  He 
was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments  and  acknowledged 
ability.  He  had  served  in  both  branches  of  the  legis 
lature  and  had  been  Speaker  of  the  House  and  presi 
dent  of  the  Senate.  Prior  to  his  appointment  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  he  had  for  several  years  retired 
from  active  politics.  He  proved  to  be  an  exception 
ally  strong  candidate. 

The  Republican  State  convention  was  held  Septem 
ber  7,  1880,  being  called  to  order  by  the  chairman  of 
the  Republican  State  committee,  Henry  H.  Huse. 
Daniel  Barnard,  of  Franklin,  presided,  and  Ossian 
Ray,  of  Lancaster,  reported  the  resolutions.  Bell  was 
nominated  by  acclamation.  In  the  first  Congressional 
district  Joshua  G.  Hall  was  renominated,  as  was  Evarts 
W.  Earr  in  the  third  district.  In  the  second  district 
there  was  opposition  to  giving  James  F.  Briggs  a  third 
nomination,  but  through  Rollins's  influence  he  was  re- 
nominated.  The  Republican  State  committee  reorgan 
ized  by  the  reelection  of  Henry  H.  Huse  as  chairman, 
George  E.  Jenks  as  secretary,  and  John  Kimball  as 
treasurer,  with  Rollins  still  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  met  September  15, 
1880,  being  called  to  order  by  the  chairman  of  the 


EVENTS   IN   NEW   HAMPSHIRE  417 

State  committee,  George  F.  Putnam,  of  Haverhill. 
John  H.  George,  of  Concord,  presided.  Harry  Bing- 
ham,  of  Littleton,  placed  Frank  Jones  in  nomination 
for  governor,  and  he  received  600  of  the  601  votes  cast. 
The  Democratic  Congressional  candidates  were  John 
W.  Sanborn,  of  Wakefield,  in  the  first  district,  Alvah 
W.  Sulloway,  of  Franklin,  in  the  second,  and  George 
A.  Bingham,  of  Littleton,  in  the  third,  the  latter  resign 
ing  from  the  Supreme  Court  to  accept  the  nomination. 

Entire  harmony  marked  the  action  of  the  Democrats 
in  this  campaign.  They  were  made  especially  enthu 
siastic  by  the  result  of  the  Maine  election,  which 
occurred  just  before  their  convention  assembled.  The 
first  returns  from  that  State  chronicled  a  Democratic 
victory,  and  the  result  was  a  great  disappointment  to 
the  Republicans.  It,  however,  stirred  them  to  greater 
activity.  Rollins  threw  himself  into  the  campaign  with 
his  accustomed  vigor  and  was  at  headquarters  directing 
affairs  until  the  campaign  closed.  The  result  was  a 
great  surprise  to  the  Democrats.  Bell  was  elected  gov 
ernor  by  a  popular  majority  of  3,500,  and  the  Republi 
cans  carried  the  legislature  by  a  large  majority.  They 
also  carried  all  of  the  Congressional  districts  and  had 
a  majority  of  four  thousand  for  their  electoral  ticket. 
Both  the  Prohibitionists  and  the  Greenbackers  made 
nominations  in  this  campaign,  but  the  vote  of  these 
two  parties  was  insignificant. 

The  election  was  no  sooner  over  than  the  old  ques 
tion  of  which  legislature  should  elect  a  Senator  was 
revived.  Senator  Bell,  during  his  brief  term  in  the 


418  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Senate,  had  introduced  a  bill  in  relation  to  the  elec 
tion  of  a  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  which  was 
referred  to  the  committee  on  privileges  and  elections, 
to  be  subsequently  reported  adversely  by  that  commit 
tee  and  indefinitely  postponed  by  the  Senate  without 
debate.  Senator  Rollins's  term  would  expire  March 
4,  1883.  The  legislature  to  be  chosen  in  November, 
1882,  would  not  meet  until  June,  1883,  and  the  legis 
lature  just  chosen  would  be  the  last  legislature  elected 
and  organized  before  the  expiration  of  Rollins' s  term. 
The  opinion  of  some  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  Senate 
was  that  the  legislature  elected  and  organized  was  the 
legislature  "  chosen  next  preceding  the  expiration  of 
the  term."  There  were  two  ways  of  preventing  a 
hiatus  in  the  Senatorial  terms  of  New  Hampshire. 
One  was  for  the  legislature  in  being  at  the  time  the 
term  expired  to  elect  a  Senator  and  let  the  Senate 
decide  the  question  of  his  admission.  The  other  was 
to  get  the  people  of  New  Hampshire  to  call  a  consti 
tutional  convention  to  change  the  time  of  the  meeting 
of  the  legislature.  The  latter  course  had  its  difficul 
ties,  for  a  majority  of  the  people  must  be  convinced 
of  the  necessity  of  calling  a  convention.  The  conven 
tion  when  assembled  must  vote  for  the  amendment,  and, 
when  the  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  people,  two- 
thirds  of  the  votes  cast  must  be  cast  in  its  favor.  Rol 
lins  determined  to  bring  the  question  before  the  incom 
ing  legislature  as  the  short  and  direct  cut  to  the  solu 
tion  of  the  problem.  Out  of  this  appeal  of  Rollins  to 
the  legislature  of  June,  1881,  came  another  constitu- 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  419 

tional  convention  in  New  Hampshire,  but  eight  years 
elapsed  before  it  was  called. 

The  Democratic  party,  which  had  nothing  to  lose 
and  everything  to  gain  by  preventing  an  election  by 
the  legislature  to  meet  in  June,  1881,  naturally  lined 
up  in  opposition  to  Rollins' s  effort.  The  Republicans 
of  the  State  looked  at  his  proposition  from  different 
points  of  view.  Coming  as  it  did  from  a  candidate 
for  reelection,  the  aspirants  for  Rdllins's  seat  regarded 
it  as  giving  him  an  unfair  advantage  over  themselves. 
The  question  had  not  entered  into  the  preceding  cam 
paign,  and  it  was  asserted  by  those  who  were  opposed 
to  Rollins  that  he  had  quietly  secured  the  election  of 
his  friends  and  supporters  as  members  of  this  legisla 
ture,  while  the  other  aspirants  for  Senatorial  honors 
had  refrained  from  effort  in  the  belief  that  the  question 
of  the  election  of  a  Senator  would  not  come  to  the  front 
until  two  years  later.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Rol 
lins  had  interested  himself  in  the  selection  of  Repub 
lican  members  of  the  legislature,  but  his  opponents 
believed,  and  were,  therefore,  firm  in  the  opinion,  that 
his  connection  at  Republican  headquarters  with  the 
preceding  campaign  had  given  him  this  opportunity. 
Again,  there  were  Republicans  who  thought  that, 
whatever  the  legal  aspects  of  the  case,  a  Senator 
should  not  be  elected  so  long  in  advance  of  the  begin 
ning  of  his  term.  If  the  legislature  of  June,  1881, 
were  to  choose  a  Senator,  it  would  be  a  year  and  nine 
months  before  his  term  began,  and,  unless  there  was 
an  extra  session  of  the  Senate  or  of  Congress,  he  would 


420  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

not  be  called  upon  to  perform  any  legislative  duties 
for  two  years  and  a  half.  When,  therefore,  the  ques 
tion  came  before  the  Republican  members  of  the  legis 
lature,  the  legal  proposition  was  mixed  with  political 
and  personal  considerations,  and  these  considerations 
were  controlling  factors  in  defeating  an  election  of 
Senator. 

The  legislature  of  June,  1881,  was  one  of  the  ablest 
legislatures  ever  assembled  in  E~ew  Hampshire.  The 
Republican  leaders  included  William  E.  Chandler, 
Gilman  Marston,  Aaron  F.  Stevens,  Walter  Harri- 
man,  and  Ira  Colby,  while  the  Democrats  were  led 
by  Harry  Bingham,  Edward  B.  S.  Sanborn,  Joseph 
D.  Weeks,  of  Canaan,  George  E.  Cochrane,  of  Far- 
mington,  and  Joseph  Q.  Roles,  of  Ossipee.  Other  mem 
bers  who  were  then  prominent  or  who  have  since  come 
into  prominence  were  Chester  B.  Jordan,  of  Lancaster, 
Alonzo  H.  Quint  and  George  S.  Erost,  of  Dover, 
Henry  Robinson,  of  Concord,  Edmund  E.  Truesdale, 
of  Pembroke,  Adam  S.  Ballantyne,  of  Northfield,  Al 
bert  A.  Rotch,  of  Ahiherst,  Albert  M.  Shaw  and 
Charles  A.  Dole,  of  Lebanon,  Elihu  T.  Quimby,  of 
Hanover,  Christopher  H.  Wells,  of  Somersworth,  John 
Hatch,  of  Greenland,  Alson  L.  Brown,  of  Whitefield, 
Albert  L.  Eastman,  of  Hampstead,  Herman  W. 
Greene,  of  Hopkinton,  Isaac  L.  Heath,  Waterman 
Smith,  John  C.  Ray,  and  John  C.  Bickford,  of  Man 
chester,  Frank  K.  Hobbs,  of  Ossipee,  George  W.  Mann, 
of  Benton,  Irving  W.  Watson,  of  Northumberland,  and 
Ithiel  E.  Clay,  of  Chatham. 


EYENTS   IN   NEW   HAMPSHIRE  421 

The  Senate  was  also  exceptionally  strong,  as  its 
roster  shows.  The  Senators  were:  Amos  C.  Chase,  of 
Kingston,  Joseph  H.  Clough,  of  New  London,  Cor 
nelius  Cooledge,  of  Hillsboro,  Alfred  A.  Cox,  of  En- 
field,  George  W.  Cummings,  of  Francestown,  Grovenor 
A.  Curtis,  of  Hopkinton,  George  H.  Fairbanks,  of 
Newport,  Virgil  C.  Gilman,  of  Nashua,  George  C. 
Gilmore,  of  Manchester,  Richard  Gove>  of  Laconia, 
Edward  Gustine,  of  Keene,  Lafayette  Hall,  of  New 
market,  Timothy  Kaley,  of  Milford,  John  Kimball,  of 
Concord,  Silas  F.  Learnard,  of  Chester,  Edward  F. 
Mann,  of  Benton,  Sherburne  R.  Merrill,  of  Colebrook, 
Joseph  C.  Moore,  of  Gilford,  John  M.  Parker,  of  Fitz- 
william,  J.  F.  Seavey,  of  Dover,  Charles  W.  Tal- 
pey,  of  Farmington,  George  H.  Towle,  of  Deerfield, 
John  S.  Treat,  of  Portsmouth,  and  David  B.  Varney, 
of  Manchester. 

The  State  Senate  organized  by  the  choice  of  John 
Kimball  as  president.  He  was  one  of  Rollins's 
staunchest  supporters,  and  was  for  many  years  treas 
urer  of  the  Republican  State  committee.  A  man  of 
probity,  he  has  the  confidence  of  the  entire  State. 
Frank  and  outspoken,  of  clear  judgment,  fearless  in 
the  discharge  of  public  or  private  duties,  John  Kimball 
is  a  representative  of  the  highest  ideals  in  citizenship. 
Four  times  mayor  of  Concord,  he  gave  the  city  business 
administrations  unexcelled  in  its  history.  He  could 
have  been  governor  of  the  State  if  he  had  consented  to 
consider  the  nomination  at  the  hands  of  his  party. 

Chester  B.  Jordan  was  elected  Speaker  without  op- 


422  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

position.  He  was  a  popular  presiding  officer,  his  un- 
conventionality  and  good  humor  contributing  much  to 
softening  the  asperities  arising  out  of  the  discussion 
of  the  Senatorial  question.  Jordan  had  been  active 
in  politics  in  the  Democratic  stronghold  of  Coos 
County.  His  coming  to  the  legislature  enlarged  his 
acquaintance  in  the  State  and  paved  the  way  for  his 
election  as  governor  of  the  State,  a  position  he  filled 
with  credit  to  himself  and  with  advantage  to  the 
State. 

The  legislature  met  June  1,  1881.  In  his  message, 
Governor  Bell  referred  to  the  Senatorial  question  as 
follows : 

"  One  of  the  earliest  questions  which  will  call  for 
your  decision  is  whether  you  will  elect  a  United  States 
Senator  to  hold  office  for  the  term  of  six  years  begin 
ning  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1883.  The  law  of  the 
United  States  provides  in  substance  that  a  Senator 
shall  be  elected  by  the  legislature  which  is  chosen  next 
before  the  vacancy  is  to  occur.  It  is  contended  that 
this  should  be  construed  so  as  to  mean  the  legislature 
which  is  chosen  and  organized  next  before  the  occur 
rence  of  the  vacancy.  It  is  for  you  to  determine 
whether  or  not  you  will  act  upon  this  construction  of 
the  law.  If  you  decide  to  do  so,  the  choice  of  Senator 
is  to  be  made  in  the  manner  and  at  the  period  of  the 
session  presented  by  the  law  of  the  United  States." 

Both  houses  of  the  legislature  took  action  the  same 
day  upon  this  part  of  the  governor's  message.  The 
Senate  upon  motion  of  Senator  Seavey,  a  lifelong 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  423 

friend  of  Rollins,  submitted  this  question  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State: 

"  Has  the  existing  legislature  the  power  and  right 
to  elect  a  Senator  to  represent  the  State  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  for  the  term  beginning  March 
4,  1883?" 

The  House  on  motion  of  Walter  Harriman  referred 
this  part  of  the  governor's  message  to  the  judiciary 
committee  for  an  opinion,  requesting  an  early  report. 
Thereupon  there  arose  a  contest  between  those  favor 
ing  an  election  of  Senator  and  those  opposed,  to 
see  which  could  be  first  submitted  and  acted  upon,  the 
opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  or  the  opinion  of  the 
judiciary  committee.  All  of  the  prominent  lawyers 
of  the  House  were  opposed  to  an  election  and  the  judi 
ciary  committee  was  not  long  in  reaching  a  conclusion. 
Only  one  member  of  the  committee  favored  an  election, 
and  he  was  Henry  Robinson,  Rollins7  s  son-in-law. 

The  committee  reported  through  Chandler  its  con 
clusions,  a  minority  report  being  presented  by  Robin 
son.  The  majority  report,  after  reciting  the  provisions 
of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  regarding  the 
election  of  Senators,  said :  "  The  effect  of  these  pro 
visions  clearly  is  to  give  the  legislatures  of  the  States 
respectively  the  right  to  choose  Senators  in  Congress 
and  to  give  to  Congress  the  paramount  right  at  any 
time  by  law  to  make  or  alter  regulations  as  to  the 
times  and  manner  of  choosing  Senators  by  the  legis 
lature  of  each  State.  In  the  exercise  'of  the  power 
thus  given  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 


424  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

Congress  passed  the  act  regulating  the  election  of  Sen 
ators,  July  25,  1866.  Prior  to  this  act  of  1866,  each 
State  regulated  the  times  and  manner  of  electing  Sen 
ators  as  well  as  the  place  of  holding  the  election. 
Abuses  sprang  up  under  this  system  which  the  act  of 
Congress  was  intended  to  avoid.  In  some  cases  parti 
san  members,  having  control  of  a  State  legislature, 
elected  without  reference  to  the  choice  of  a  Senator, 
anticipating  the  expiration  of  a  Senatorial  term,  and 
that  an  intervening  legislature  chosen,  or  to  be  chosen, 
would  be  composed  of  a  majority  of  members  of  adverse 
politics  to  their  own,  elected  a  Senator  long  before  the 
term  for  which  he  was  elected  began.  In  other  in 
stances,  when  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature  were 
of  adverse  politics,  the  election  of  Senators  was  ob 
structed.  To  avoid  these  and  other  abuses  and  to 
secure  the  latest  expression  of  the  people  through  its 
legislature,  Congress  passed  the  act  of  1866  regulating 
both  the  time  and  manner  of  the  election  of  Senators 
by  the  legislature  of  each  State." 

The  report  then  gave  a  resume  of  the  attempts  made 
to  secure  from  the  United  States  Senate  a  construction 
of  this  statute  as  applied  to  the  ISTew  Hampshire  case, 
and  asserted  that  the  McMillan  report  of  the  Senate 
committee  on  privileges  and  elections  had  never  been 
reversed,  "  although  several  Senators  had  expressed 
their  individual  opinions  in  favor  of  the  right  of  the 
legislature  of  1878  to  elect  Wadleigh's  successor." 
Continuing,  the  report  said :  "  At  the  time  of  the  elec 
tion  of  the  present  legislature  in  November,  1880,  it 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  425 

is  indisputable  that  the  people  of  the  State  of  both 
political  parties  rested  upon  the  determination  of  1878, 
and  had  expectation  that  the  legislature  elected  in  1882 
would  choose  a  Senator.  The  single  question  now  be 
fore  the  House  is  whether  it  will  regard  the  law  of 
1866,  conform  to  the  precedent  of  1878,  and  remit  the 
next  election  of  Senator  to  the  legislature  of  1883,  or 
will  disregard  the  law,  reverse  the  precedent,  and  elect 
a  Senator  two  and  a  half  years  before  he  will  be  called 
upon  to  take  his  seat." 

The  minority  report  reviewed  the  action  of  the  Sen 
ate  on  the  McMillan  report  and  the  debate  on  the  ques 
tion  of  the  admission  of  Senator  Bell,  and  quoted  the 
opinions  of  Senators  Conkling,  Eaton,  Kernan,  Elaine, 
Carpenter,  Davis,  Beck,  Wallace,  and  McDonald  as 
declaring  that  the  legislature  of  1878  should  have 
elected  Wadleigh's  successor.  The  conclusion  of  this 
report  was  that  the  express  purpose  of  the  act  of 
1866  was  to  facilitate  elections,  secure  an  unbroken 
representation  for  every  State  and  not  to  create  vacan 
cies,  that  it  was  the  manifest  intent  of  Congress  to  vest 
the  power  of  electing  a  Senate  in  a  legislature  in  exist 
ence  and  having  official  powers  at  the  time  the  term 
expires,  that  the  State  has  a  constitutional  right  to 
continuous  representation  in  the  Senate  by  the  choice 
of  its  legislature  which  cannot  be  infringed,  impaired, 
or  taken  away  by  any  act  of  Congress,  that,  if  the  law 
cannot  be  so  construed,  it  is  clearly  unconstitutional, 
null,  and  void. 

The   Senate  received  the  opinion  of  the   Supreme 


426  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Court  before  the  judiciary  committee's  report  could 
be  acted  upon  by  the  House,  so  that,  in  the  discussion 
which  ensued  in  the  House,  both  the  opinion  of  the 
court  and  the  opinion  of  the  committee  were  consid 
ered.  The  opinion  of  the  court  was  signed  by  Chief 
Justice  Doe  and  Judges  Foster,  Stanley,  Allen,  Smith, 
and  Clark,  four  Republicans  and  two  Democrats. 
Judge  Blodgett  declined  to  give  an  opinion  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  not  had  time  to  consider  the  ques 
tion.  The  court  said: 

"  The  primary  right  of  the  State  is  not  to  be  repre 
sented  five  years  and  nine  months,  or  any  other  part 
of  each  Senatorial  term,  by  two  Senators  chosen  by  the 
legislature,  but  to  be  represented  during  the  whole 
of  each  term  by  two  Senators  so  chosen ;  and  the  mani 
fest  constitutional  duty  of  the  legislature  is  to  elect 
Senators  at  such  times,  that  the  State  may  be  repre 
sented  by  two  Senators,  chosen  by  the  legislature 
thereof  for  six  years. 

"  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  so  long  as  it  remains  in 
force  in  its  present  form  there  can  be  no  power,  State 
or  federal,  legally  capable  of  depriving  a  State  of  the 
right  which  the  constitution  has  conferred  upon  it,  or 
of  relieving  the  legislature  from  the  duty  which  the 
constitution  has  imposed  upon  it,  and  there  is  no  more 
power  legally  to  suspend  the  right  and  duty  for  a  day 
than  for  six  years,  or  forever. 

"  The  next  legislature,  having  no  official  existence 
until  June,  1883,  cannot  elect  a  Senator  for  the  full 


EVENTS   IN   NEW   HAMPSHIRE  427 

term  of  six  years,  beginning  March  4,  1883.  There 
fore,  the  refusal  of  the  present  legislature  to  elect  a 
Senator  for  that  term  would  be  a  violation  of  the  con 
stitutional  right  of  the  State  to  be  represented  by  two 
Senators  — '  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof  for  six 
years.'  Such  a  refusal,  leaving  the  State  for  three 
months  represented  by  only  one  Senator  chosen  by  its 
legislature,  would  be  as  plainly  unconstitutional  as 
similar  refusals  leaving  the  State  for  all  time  without 
any  Senator  so  chosen. 

"  As  Congress  cannot  legally  violate  the  constitu 
tional  right  of  the  State  to  be  represented  by  two  Sen 
ators  chosen  by  the  legislature,  and  as  that  right  would 
be  violated  by  the  refusal  of  the  present  legislature  to 
elect,  it  is  not  necessary  to  inquire  into  the  validity 
of  the  act  of  Congress.  But,  having  examined  the  act, 
it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  express  the  opinion  that 
it  is  constitutional  because  it  cannot  be  fairly  con 
strued  to  be  a  denial  of  the  constitutional  electoral 
duty  of  the  present  legislature.  Section  15,  prescribing 
the  manner  of  election,  has  no  bearing  on  the  present 
question,  which  is  a  question  of  the  time  only.  Section 
14  fixes  the  time.  It  provides,  in  substance,  that  a 
Senator  shall  be  elected  by  the  legislature  which  is 
chosen  next  preceding  the  beginning  of  a  Senatorial 
term. 

"  The  legislature  here  intended  is  a  body  of  men 
who  are  the  legislature  before  the  beginning  of  the 
Senatorial  term,  and  not  a  body  of  men  who  will  be 


428  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  legislature  if  they  are  alive,  three  months  after  the 
beginning  of  the  term." 

An  attempt  was  made  to  have  the  Republicans  cau 
cus  on  this  question,  but,  when  the  caucus  met,  the 
leaders  who  were  opposed  to  an  election  of  Senator 
stated  that  they  would  not  be  bound  by  caucus  action, 
so  the  attempt  was  abandoned. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  opinion  of  the  supreme 
court,  the  State  Senate  proceeded  on  the  day  appointed 
by  the  United  States  statute  to  vote  for  United  States 
Senator  and  notified  the  House  that  it  was  ready  to 
meet  it  in  joint  convention  to  complete  the  legislative 
action.  In  the  House  several  days  of  interesting  and 
spicy  debate  followed  the  report  of  the  judiciary  com 
mittee.  Prior  to  the  vote  in  the  House,  the  Democrats 
met  in  caucus  and  voted  to  support  the  majority  report 
of  the  judiciary  committee,  being  brought  into  line  for 
attendance  and  action  by  their  leader,  Harry  Bing- 
ham. 

Few  men  leading  a  minority  party  in  the  legislature 
through  successive  sessions  of  bitter  partisan  contest 
have  won  the  generous  confidence  and  affection  that 
was  accorded  to  Harry  Bingham  in  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  On  all  matters  not  partisan  his  influence 
in  the  legislature  was  unrivalled.  He  had  a  compre 
hensive  knowledge  of  the  State  and  its  needs,  and,  as 
a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee  of  the  House, 
he  was  ever  helpful  in  shaping  legislation.  When 
thoroughly  aroused  in  debate,  he  was  a  veritable  lion, 
and  his  speech,  ordinarily  deliberate,  poured  forth  in 


EVENTS   IN   NEW   HAMPSHIRE  429 

strong  and  eloquent  periods.  Fear  he  knew  not,  and, 
regardless  of  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  hour, 
he  stood  by  his  convictions  even  if  he  stood  alone.  Ses 
sion  after  session,  from  the  time  of  the  stormy  Civil 
War  period  to  1891,  he  fought  in  the  lower  branch  of 
the  legislature  the  battles  of  the  Democratic  party  with 
a  vigor  that  knew  no  thought  of  surrender.  The  latter 
session  closed  his  legislative  service.  During  Presi 
dent  Cleveland's  second  administration  he  took  issue 
with  him  on  the  Hawaiian  question,  and  later  opposed 
the  election  of  Bryan  to  the  Presidency.  Frequently 
he  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  United  States 
Senator.  Had  he  been  elected  to  that  body,  he  would 
have  taken  rank  with  Edmunds  and  Thurman  as  a 
constitutional  lawyer  and  a  constructive  statesman. 
Between  him  and  Oilman  Marston  there  existed  a 
warm  and  intimate  friendship.  There  was  much  of 
similarity  in  the  two,  but  Bingham  was  the  stronger 
and  more  positive  force. 

Another  able  member  of  the  minority  party  at  this 
session  was  Edward  B.  S.  Sanborn,  of  Franklin.  He 
was  a  sound  lawyer  and  an  accomplished  advocate. 
His  legislative  triumphs  were  numerous.  He  had  the 
rare  faculty  of  knowing  when  a  speech  would  be  most 
effective.  His  participation  in  debate  was  generally 
confined  to  two  or  three  occasions  during  the  session. 
Near  the  close  of  some  interesting  and  protracted  dis 
cussion,  when  it  seemed  as  if  the  last  word  had  been 
spoken,  Sanborn  would  rise  and  address  the  House 


430  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

with  a  freshness  of  treatment  of  the  subject  and  a 
power  of  statement  rarely  equalled. 

In  the  debate  in  the  House,  Bingham,  who  had  been 
quoted  by  Wadleigh  two  years  previous  as  giving  an 
opinion  that  the  legislature  of  1878  should  elect  a 
Senator,  put  his  opposition  to  an  election  at  this  time 
solely  on  the  ground  that  the  question  had  been  deter 
mined  by  the  legislature  of  1878,  and  by  the  United 
States  Senate  in  its  action  on  the  McMillan  report. 

When  the  vote  was  taken  in  the  House,  118  Republi 
cans  favored  an  election  and  119  Democrats  and  63 
Republicans  voted  against  it.  This  ended  the  contro 
versy  so  far  as  the  legislature  of  1881  was  concerned. 
It  was  to  recur  again  two  years  later  when  Blair 
brought  it  before  the  Republican  legislative  caucus  to 
determine  which  legislature  should  elect  his  successor. 
The  legal  aspect  of  the  case  was  no  more  determined 
by  the  legislature  of  New  Hampshire  than  it  had 
been  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  for  expediency 
had  largely  controlled  the  votes  of  members  of  the  leg 
islature.  The  letters  from  the  capital  of  Henry  M. 
Putney,  the  editor  of  the  Mirror,  to  his  paper,  sets  out 
this  view  as  follows: 

"  After  the  caucus  of  last  week,  Mr.  Chandler  for 
the  majority  of  the  judiciary  committee,  made  a  report 
that  it  is  inexpedient  to  elect  a  Senator  this  year,  which 
was  followed  by  a  minority  report  with  an  opposite 
conclusion.  The  debates  in  the  House  have  been  upon 
the  adoption  of  these  reports,  Generals  Marston,  Ste 
vens,  and  Harriman,  Mr.  Chandler,  and  Professor 


EVENTS   IN   NEW    HAMPSHIRE  431 

Quimby,  of  Hanover,  doing  the  talking  for  the  inexpe 
diency  doctrine,  and  Doctor  Quint,  Greene,  of  Hopkin- 
ton,  Robinson,  of  Concord,  and  Dole,  of  Lebanon,  for 
the  other.  It  has  not  escaped  attention  that  neither  the 
majority  report  nor  its  advocates,  with  the  exception 
of  General  Marston,  have  declared  that  an  election  at 
this  time  would  be  illegal,  it  being  deemed  sufficient, 
and  much  safer,  to  oppose  it  as  inexpedient." 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 

ROLLINS    IN    THE    FOKTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS 

THE  Senate  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  was  con 
vened  in  extra  session  March  4,  1881.  The  elections 
of  1880  had  increased  the  Republican  representation  in 
that  body,  but  neither  side  had  a  distinct  majority  of  its 
members.  There  were  two  Senators  who  were  classed 
as  independent,  David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  and  William 
Mahone,  of  Virginia.  If  both  acted  with  either  party 
they  would  give  that  party  control  of  the  Senate.  If 
the  two  divided  in  their  party  support,  there  would  be 
an  equal  division  of  the  Senate,  and  Vice-President 
Arthur  would  have  the  casting  vote.  Davis,  after  his 
election  to  the  Senate,  two  years  before,  had  generally 
acted  with  the  Democrats,  and  there  was  no  reason  to 
think  that  his  course  would  be  different  in  this  Con 
gress.  The  organization  of  the  Senate  committees  and 
the  election  of  the  Senate  officers,  therefore,  depended 
upon  the  position  taken  by  Senator  Mahone. 

In  Virginia  politics  toward  the  close  of  the  re 
construction  period  the  State  had  been  wrested  from  the 
control  of  the  Republicans  by  what  was  known  as  the 
Conservative  party,  local  issues  predominating  in  the 
campaigns.  The  Conservative  party  did  not  take  the 

432 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        433 

name  of  Democrat  until  about  1880.  In  the  meantime, 
the  absorbing  question  in  Virginian  politics  came  to 
be  the  settlement  of  the  State  debt,  which  divided  the 
Democratic  or  Conservative  party.  A  new  party  came 
into  existence,  led  by  Mahone,  known  as  the  Readjus- 
ter  party.  This  party  favored  one  settlement  of  the 
State  debt,  and  the  Democratic  or  Conservative  party 
another.  Mahone,  standing  for  the  protection  of  the 
negroes  of  Virginia  in  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suf 
frage,  secured  the  support  of  the  Republicans  of  the 
State,  and  most  of  that  party  was  gradually  merged 
into  the  Readjuster  party.  The  Democratic  party  of 
Virginia  was  represented  at  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  of  1880,  while  the  Readjuster  party  was 
not.  Yet  national  issues  had  little  bearing  upon  the 
State  election  of  that  year,  many  Readjusters  of  Dem 
ocratic  antecedents  supporting  the  Democratic  nom 
inee  for  President.  The  Readjusters  elected  their 
candidate  for  governor  and  carried  the  legislature, 
while  the  Democrats  secured  the  Presidential  electors. 
Mahone  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the 
legislature.  The  Democrats  of  Virginia  were  very 
bitter  toward  him,  and  he  was  socially  ostracized  by 
their  leaders. 

When  the  United  States  Senate  met  in  extra  session, 
there  were  rumors  that  Mahone  would  act  with  the 
Republicans  in  the  organization  of  that  body.  This 
was  soon  confirmed  by  his  own  declarations  and  by  the 
nomination,  a,s  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  Senate,  by  the 
Republican  caucus,  of  Ha,rrison  H.  Riddleberger,  of 


434  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Virginia,  one  of  Mahone' s  supporters  and  afterward 
his  colleague  in  the  Senate.  The  contest  was  precipi 
tated  by  a  resolution  offered  by  the  Republicans,  giving 
them  the  chairmanships  of  the  Senate  committees.  A 
long  debate  followed  this  resolution,  in  which  Mahone 
was  accused  by  the  Democrats  with  deserting  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  and  the  Republicans  charged  with  allying 
themselves  with  repudiators,  as  the  Democrats  called 
the  Readjusters  of  Virginia.  This  last  accusation  was 
somewhat  ludicrous,  because  neither  the  Democratic  nor 
Readjuster  party  in  Virginia  proposed  to  pay  the  en 
tire  State  debt,  while  in  a  number  of  Southern  States 
repudiation  of  State  debts  had  followed  the  accession 
to  power  of  the  Democrats  in  those  States.  Mahone 
defended  his  position  with  force  and  clearness,  repelling 
the  insinuations  made  against  him  by  Democratic  Sen 
ators.  All  the  charges  of  the  Democrats  were  answered 
by  the  Republican  Senators.  The  trend  of  the  discus 
sion  is  shown  by  a  speech  made  by  Rollins  during  the 
debate.  He  said  in  his  direct  way: 

"  I  did  not  propose  at  this  time  and  I  do  not  propose 
now  to  detain  the  Senate  with  a  discussion  of  this 
question,  but  there  is  one  feature  to  which  I  wish  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  and  the  country.  While 
Senators  on  the  other  side,  the  Senators  from  North 
Carolina,  for  instance,  are  shocked  at  the  idea  that  we 
upon  this  side  of  the  chamber  should  dare  under  any 
circumstances  to  give  a  vote  for  a  Readjuster  of  Vir 
ginia,  they  have  supported  on  that  side  for  any  and 
every  office  of  the  government,  no  matter  how  large  or 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS         435 

how  small,  the  strongest  and  boldest  repudiators  in  the 
land,  and  not  even  my  friend  from  Delaware,  Mr.  Bay 
ard,  is  shocked.  You  Senators  are  disturbed  in  your 
nightly  dreams,  you  are  horrified  because  we  upon  this 
side  determined  to  vote  for  a  Readjuster  of  Vir 
ginia  who  proposes  to  readjust  in  some  way  the  debt 
of  that  great  State,  when  we  find  he  is  with  us  upon 
the  question  of  a  free  ballot  and  an  honest  count;  but 
you  are  not  disturbed  by  repudiation  in  Louisiana. 
You  are  not  disturbed  by  repudiation  in  North  Carolina. 
You  are  not  disturbed  by  the  repudiation  of  your 
friends  all  through  the  South.  You  are  not  disturbed 
by  the  repudiation  which  has  taken  place  in  this  coun 
try  in  Democratic  States  and  in  Democratic  States 
alone.  You  are  only  disturbed  when  we,  under  some 
circumstances,  dare  to  vote  or  to  indicate  a  purpose  to 
vote  for  Riddleberger  of  Virginia. 

The  Republicans  succeeded  by  the  vote  of  the  Vice- 
President  in  organizing  the  committees  of  the  Senate, 
but  not  in  electing  their  candidates  for  Senate  offices. 
Rollins' s  assignments  to  committees  were  as  follows: 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  public  buildings  and 
grounds,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  enrolled 
bills,  and  a  member  of  the  committees  on  naval  af 
fairs,  District  of  Columbia,  and  civil  service  and  re 
trenchment.  He  was  also  appointed  on  the  select 
committee  to  examine  the  several  branches  of  the 
civil  service  and  on  a  committee  to  investigate  the 
subject  of  heavy  ordnance,  but  was  later  excused  at 
his  own  request  from  service  on  the  committee  on  en- 


436  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

rolled  bills  and  the  select  committee  on  civil  service. 
The  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  public  build 
ings  and  grounds  was  selected  by  him  for  the  sole  pur 
pose  of  securing  a  public  building  for  Concord,  New 
Hampshire,  a  purpose  he  had  had  in  mind  since  his 
election  to  the  Senate.  He  had  already  paved  the  way 
for  a  public  building  at  the  capital  of  New  Hamp 
shire  by  having  the  United  States  courts  transferred 
from  Exeter  to  Concord.  The  bill  authorizing  this 
building  and  making  appropriation  for  it  passed  at  the 
first  session  of  this  Congress.  This  building,  pro 
nounced  by  President  Harrison  one  of  the  handsomest 
public  buildings  in  the  country,  stands  as  a  memorial  of 
Rollins's  industry  in  behalf  of  his. native  State. 

The  Republican  party  was  soon  split  into  two  hostile 
factions  by  the  action  of  President  Garfield  in  appoint 
ing  William  H.  Robertson  to  the  collectorship  of  the 
port  of  New  York.  This  appointment  was  extremely 
obnoxious  to  Senator  Conkling  of  that  State,  as  it  put 
into  the  most  important  federal  position  in  New  York 
the  leader  of  the  Republican  forces  in  that  State  antago 
nistic  to  Conkling.  He  regarded  it  as  the  beginning 
of  a,  warfare  by  the  administration  on  his  supremacy 
in  New  York.  The  courtesy  of  the  Senate  was  invoked 
to  induce  the  President  to  withdraw  the  appointment, 
and,  failing  in  this,  to  secure  the  defeat  of  Robertson's 
confirmation.  Rollins's  relations  with  Conkling  were 
most  agreeable.  He  regarded  the  appointment  as  a 
mistake  on  the  part  of  the  administration,  in  that  it 
precipitated  a  contest  which  ought  to  have  been  avoided. 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        437 

He  joined  with  other  Republican  Senators  in  an  effort 
to  have  the  President  withdraw  the  nomination  and 
recognize  that  element  of  the  Republican  party  of 
which  Robertson  was  a  representative  by  giving  him 
some  other  appointment.  Rollins  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  of  Senators  who  waited  upon  the  Presi 
dent,  but  he  left  no  record  of  the  conferences  which 
took  place  at  the  White  House.  The  nomination  was 
not  withdrawn,  and,  failing  to  secure  the  defeat  of  the 
confirmation,  Conkling  and  his  colleague  from  New 
York  resigned.  The  sequel  of  this  contest  is  well 
known. 

The  death  of  Garfield  a  few  months  later  transferred 
Vice-President  Arthur  from  the  Senate  to  the  White 
House,  and,  when  the  Senate  met  again,  a  question  con 
fronting  it  was  the  election  of  a  president  pro  tempore 
of  that  body.  At  that  time  the  president  of  the  Senate 
was  in  direct  line  of  succession  to  the  Presidency  and, 
in  case  of  the  death  or  disability  of  President  Arthur, 
would  have  become  acting  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  Republicans  had  not  a  majority  of  the 
Senate,  even  with  the  vote  of  Mahone.  To  prevent  a 
Democrat  from  becoming  president  of  the  Senate,  the 
Republicans  nominated  David  Davis,  of  Illinois,  the 
only  independent  Senator  of  that  body,  for  that  posi 
tion,  and  elected  him.  The  committees  of  the  Senate  re 
mained  in  the  control  of  the  Republicans,  but  Davis 
refused  to  join  them  in  changing  the  officers  of  the 
Senate. 

With  President  Arthur,  Rollins  was  on  very  intimate 


438  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

terms.  The  former  gradually  reorganized  the  Cabinet 
appointed  by  President  Garfield,  filling  the  positions 
with  men  of  his  own  choice.  The  Navy  portfolio  went 
to  William  E.  Chandler,  of  New  Hampshire.  Chand 
ler  had  been  nominated  by  President  Garfield  for  So 
licitor  General  of  the  United  States,  but  the  Democrats 
defeated  his  confirmation.  They  were  apprehensive  of 
his  activity  in  this  position  in  prosecuting  the  violation 
of  the  election  laws  in  the  South,  and  bent  every  energy 
to  secure  his  defeat.  In  this  they  were  aided  by  Sena 
tor  J.  Donald  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  who,  as 
chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee,  was 
defeated  by  Chandler  at  the  Chicago  Convention  of 
1880,  in  his  attempt  to  enforce  the  unit  rule  in  the 
interest  of  General  Grant's  nomination  for  the  Presi 
dency.  When  it  became  apparent  that  President  Ar 
thur  was  considering  Chandler  for  the  position  of 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  question  naturally  arose 
whether  he  could  be  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  fact  that  the  Republicans  had  not  a  major 
ity  in  that  body,  Cameron's  influence,  still  hostile, 
might  be  sufficient  to  prevent  a  confirmation.  The 
appointment  would  be  especially  pleasing  to  New 
Hampshire,  being  a  recognition  of  the  State  -she  had 
not  received  since  Levi  Woodbury  held  the  positions  of 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
in  Jackson's  administration.  Rollins  canvassed  the 
Senate  in  Chandler's  behalf,  bringing  to  bear  all  of  his 
personal  influence  upon  Republican  Senators  unfriendly 
to  Chandler.  He  also  sought  and  secured  Democratic 


IN   THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        439 

support.  His  efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  al 
though  the  vote  was  close.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  Rollins's  masterly  management  of  the  case  in  the 
Senate  secured  Chandler's  confirmation. 

Throughout  this  Congress  Rollins  was  most  actively 
employed.  His  committee  assignments  were  important, 
and  he  mastered  the  details  of  all  the  work  coming  be 
fore  them.  The  old  antagonism  between  the  leading 
committees  of  the  Senate  and  the  appropriation  com 
mittee,  which  controlled  all  appropriations,  was  brought 
into  prominence  by  the  efforts  of  Rollins  to  secure  re 
forms  in  the  navy.  The  naval  committee  and  the  ap 
propriation  committee  were  in  frequent  conflict,  and 
the  debates  over  the  naval  appropriation  bill,  in  which 
Rollins  took  conspicuous  part,  were  spicy  and  instruc 
tive.  He  succeeded  in  laying  before  the  Senate  and 
the  public  the  methods  by  which  increased  pay  and 
promotions  on  the  retired  list  of  the  navy  had  been  se 
cured,  and  led  the  way  to  later  reforms.  A  large  share 
of  the  work  of  the  District  of  Columbia  committee 
fell  on  him,  because  of  his  familiarity  with  the  affairs 
of  the  District.  His  work,  however,  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  measures  coming  before  committees  of 
which  he  was  a  member. 

The  question  of  the  revision  of  the  tariff,  which  had 
been  agitated  for  some  time,  came  up  for  action  at  the 
second  session  of  this  Congress.  The  fall  elections  of 
1882  had  been  disastrous  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
the  next  Congress  would  be  Democratic.  A  Demo 
cratic  victory  in  the  next  Presidential  election  seemed 


440  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

probable.  There  remained  only  three  months  for  the 
Republicans  in  Congress  to  do  anything  to  strengthen, 
their  party.  A  tariff  commission  had  been  appointed 
by  President  Arthur,  and  had  made  its  report,  recom 
mending  changes  in  the  existing  rates  of  duty.  There 
was  a  strong  feeling  in  the  Republican  party  that  the 
Forty-seventh  Congress  should  revise  the  tariff  before 
it  adjourned.  Otherwise  it  might  devolve  upon  a  Dem 
ocratic  Congress  to  do  this  work,  while  the  failure  of 
the  Republicans  to  revise  the  tariff  might  contribute  to 
their  defeat  in  the  next  campaign.  The  time  between 
the  first  Monday  of  December,  1882,  and  the  4th  of 
March  following  was  too  short  for  both  houses  to  fully 
consider  a  measure  of  the  magnitude  of  a  tariff  bill. 
The  House  was  not  then  operating  under  the  Reed 
rules,  and  a  minority  could  easily  defeat  a  new  measure 
by  filibustering.  Even  if  such  a  measure  passed  the 
House,  it  would  be  at  so  late  a  date  that  it  could  be 
talked  to  death  in  the  Senate.  Fortunately  for  the 
party,  there  had  been  passed  by  the  House  at  its  pre 
vious  session  a  revenue  bill  which  was  then  before  the 
Senate.  By  taking  up  this  bill  and  striking  out  all 
but  the  enacting  clause,  the  Senate  could,  under  the 
guise  of  an  amendment,  incorporate  under  this  title 
a  tariff  measure  which,  when  received  by  the  House, 
could  be  sent  to  conference,  thus  limiting  debate  and 
preventing  filibustering  tactics.  The  Republican 
leaders  in  Congress  determined  to  take  this  course,  al 
though  great  doubt  existed  of  their  ability  to  succeed. 
In  the  time  intervening  before  the  4th  of  March  were 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        441 

the  Christmas  holidays,  which  usually  afforded  an  ex 
cuse  for  a  recess  of  two  or  three  weeks. 

When  the  Republican  plan  was  decided  upon,  Sen 
ator  Rollins  went  to  work  with  his  accustomed  energy 
and  watchfulness  of  details  to  make  it  a  success.  The 
first  thing  essential  was  to  prevent  the  usual  holiday 
recess.  This  undertaking  he  took  upon  himself,  seeing 
every  Republican  Senator  and  securing  his  written 
pledge  to  vote  against  a  holiday  adjournment.  When 
the  customary  resolution  to  adjourn  over  the  holidays 
was  offered,  it  was  defeated  by  a  solid  Republican  vote. 
This  accomplished,  he  then  familiarized  himself  with 
the  changes  proposed  by  the  tariff  bill  and  the  effect 
they  would  have  upon  New  England  interests,  and  he 
took  a  considerable  part  in  shaping  the  tariff  bill  that 
was  finally  passed  in  the  closing  hours  of  this  Congress. 
After  the  adjournment,  his  work  as  a  Senator  was  re 
viewed  by  Ben  Perley  Poore,  the  long-time  Washing 
ton  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Journal.  Poore  said : 

"  Senator  Rollins  takes  rank  second  to  none  in  the 
influence  he  exerts  in  the  Senate.  A  practical  business 
man,  of  clear  head  and  sound  judgment,  he  accom 
plishes  more  work  and  makes  less*  fuss  about  it  than 
almost  any  other  member  of  that  branch  of  Congress. 
He  has  that  push  and  determination  about  him  that 
gives  success  to  any  measure  he  undertakes,  as,  for 
instance,  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  knit  goods  bill  last 
summer,  when  he  and  Senator  Hawley  rescued  it  from 
what  seemed  to  be  irretrievable  defeat.  He  is  entitled 
to  the  credit  of  keeping  the  Senate  in  session  during 


442  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  last  Christmas  holidays  —  a  two  weeks'  work  that 
enabled  the  Senate  to  pass  the  civil  service  and  tariff 
bills,  and  had  a  healthy  influence  over  the  House  in 
expediting  its  business.  Although  not  frequently  en 
gaging  in  debate,  he  showed  himself  at  home  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  during  the  contest  a  year  ago  be 
tween  the  appropriation  and  naval  committees,  over 
the  action  of  the  former  in  tacking  general  legislation 
upon  the  naval  appropriation  bill,  and  he  has  had  the 
satisfaction  at  this  session  of  seeing,  not  only  the  ap 
propriation  committee,  but  the  whole  Senate,  put  its 
foot  upon  the  vicious  practice  of  smuggling  legislation 
into  amendments  of  appropriation  bills  that  should 
properly  come  before  Congress  as  separate  measures. 
"  Mr.  Rollins's  attention  to  the  wants  of  his  State 
and  the  demands  of  his  constituents  is  proverbial,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  smallest  request  receives  the  same 
attention  from  him  as  the  largest.  His  service  to  his 
State  is  attested  by  such  accomplished  facts  as  a  liberal 
appropriation  for  a  public  building  at  Concord;  the 
removal  of  the  United  States  courts  to  a  more  con 
venient  section  of  the  State;  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Exeter  and  Cocheco  Rivers;  the 
relief  of  the  New  Hampshire  savings  banks  of 
$100,000  unjust  taxes,  and  numerous  other  matters 
of  local  importance.  No  Senator  is  recorded  as  in 
attendance  and  voting  more  days  of  a  session  than 
he,  and  his  votes  have  invariably  been  on  the  right 
side.  He  has  kept  clear  of  Credit  Mobilier  and  other 
jobs,  and  his  State  never  had  occasion  to  fear  that 


IN    THE   FORTY  -  SEVENTH    CONGRESS        443 

a  Congressional  investigation  would  smirch  him.  His 
first  term  in  the  Senate  is  creditable  to  him  and  his 
State,  and  his  reelection  should  follow,  as  his  six  years 
of  experience  can  but  enable  him  to  take  even  higher 
rank  than  he  has  already  occupied." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


THE  Republican  campaign  of  1882  opened  early. 
There  were  rival  candidates  for  the  gubernatorial  nom 
ination.  From  April  to  September  there  was  a  can 
vass  for  delegates  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the 
party  in  the  methods  employed  to  secure  them,  and  in 
the  bitterness  of  strife  engendered  thereby.  Manches 
ter  presented  one  of  her  distinguished  citizens,  Moody 
Currier,  as  a  candidate  for  the  nomination.  He  had 
been  mayor  of  the  city,  a  State  Senator,  and  a  member 
of  the  governor's  Council.  He  was  a  man  of  ability 
and  learning,  successful  in  business,  everywhere 
respected,  but  advanced  in  years.  The  other  candidate 
was  Samuel  W.  Hale,  of  Keene,  who  was  just  past 
middle  life.  He  had  been  voted  for  in  previous  State 
conventions,  and  he  came  from  a  section  of  the  State 
that  had  not  furnished  a  governor  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  The  claim  of  locality  was  advanced  in  Hale's 
behalf,  and  it  was  met  by  the  counter-claim  that  one 
longer  in  the  service  of  the  party  and  of  better  known 
fitness  should  be  given  the  nomination.  If  events  had 
taken  their  natural  course,  no  danger  or  harm  would 
have  come  to  the  party.  The  contest,  however,  in- 

444 


ROLLINS'S   LAST    CAMPAIGN  445 

creased  in  intensity  as  it  progressed,  and  very  soon 
charges  and  countercharges  were  made  of  sharp  prac 
tices  in  securing  delegates,  until  the  feeling  between 
the  friends  of  the  two  candidates  was  wrought  to  that 
degree  of  hostility  that  it  threatened  to  wreck  the 
Republican  party  beyond  resurrection. 

It  soon  appeared  that  Hale  was  not  the  general 
choice  of  his  own  section  of  the  State.  The  building 
of  the  Manchester  and  Keene  Railroad,  with  which 
he  had  been  connected,  had  caused  losses  to  stock 
holders,  and  consequent  resentment  toward  all  those 
who  had  induced  investment  or  conducted  the  enter 
prise.  To  offset  this  and  the  claim  that  Mr.  Currier 
should  be  first  considered,  the  charge  was  made  that 
Mr.  Currier  was  too  old  to  stand  the  strain  of  a  politi 
cal  campaign,  and  that,  if  he  did  not  succumb  during 
the  canvass,  he  would  not  live  out  his  term.  The 
Republican  party  was  split  wide  open  into  hostile 
camps.  There  was  a  contest  in  almost  every  town  and 
ward  to  secure  delegates  to  the  State  convention.  Each 
candidate  had  headquarters  from  which  was  directed 
his  campaign  for  the  nomination.  These  headquarters 
furnished  the  Democratic  party  with  abundant  mate 
rial  to  be  used  against  the  successful  nominee  in  the 
subsequent  election.  The  returns  of  the  caucuses  in 
dicated  that  the  vote  of  the  convention  would  be  close. 
A  few  unpledged  delegates  were  elected.  Toward 
these  the  friends  of  the  two  candidates  directed  their 
efforts.  It  was  now  or  never  with  each  side.  The 
bitterness  between  the  contending  factions  was  such 


446  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

that  there  seemed  little  prospect  of  electing  the  nom 
inee,  whoever  he  might  be.  Efforts  to  secure  the 
withdrawal  of  both  candidates  and  the  substitution 
of  some  compromise  candidate  failed.  The  contest  was 
carried  into  the  convention  and  there  fought  to  the 
finish.  After  several  ballots,  Hale  won  by  a  small 
majority,  and  was  declared  the  candidate  of  the  party. 

The  Republican  State  convention  met  September 
12,  1882.  It  was  presided  over  by  Chester  B.  Jordan, 
of  Lancaster,  and  the  platform  was  reported  by  Alonzo 
H.  Quint,  of  Dover.  Four  ballots  were  necessary  for 
the  choice  of  a  candidate  for  governor,  Hale's  vote 
increasing  on  each  ballot. 

The  Democratic  State  convention  met  the  next  day, 
being  called  to  order  by  Arthur  L.  Meserve,  of  Bart- 
lett,  chairman  of  the  State  committee.  Stilson 
Hutchins,  of  Laconia,  who  had  returned  to  his  native 
State  for  a  brief  residence,  from  Washington,  where 
he  had  achieved  marked  success  in  the  newspaper 
field,  presided,  and  Charles  F.  Stone,  of  Laconia, 
reported  the  resolutions.  Only  one  ballot  was  neces 
sary  to  select  a  candidate  for  governor,  Martin  V.  B. 
Edgerly,  of  Manchester,  receiving  296  of  the  444  votes 
cast.  Edgerly  was  in  the  insurance  business  and  had 
a  large  acquaintance  and  personal  following  in  the 
State.  The  convention  adjourned  with  the  Democrats 
sanguine  of  Edgerly's  election  by  the  people. 

The  Republican  nominees  for  Congress  were  Martin 
A.  Haynes,  of  Gilford,  in  the  first  district,  and  Ossian 
Ray,  of  Lancaster,  in  the  second,  the  State's  represen- 


ROLLINS'S   LAST    CAMPAIGN  447 

tation  being  now  reduced  to  two  members.  "  Private  " 
Haynes  had  as  active  competitors  for  the  nomination 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  of  Epping,  and  Andrew  H. 
Young,  of  Dover,  the  latter  having  just  resigned  as 
collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  New  Hampshire 
district.  Haynes  was  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  a 
jovial  comrade,  and  a  popular  candidate.  As  a  news 
paper  editor  he  wielded  a  ready  pen.  His  nomination 
was  fortunate  at  this  time,  as  it  added  strength  to  the 
ticket.  He  served  two  terms  in  Congress. 

Ray  was  a  lawyer  of  marked  ability,  who  had  been 
nominated  and  elected  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term 
of  Evarts  W.  Farr  at  the  time  of  the  latter's  death. 
He  was  a  man  of  forceful  character  and  an  earnest 
advocate. 

The  Democratic  nominees  for  Congress  were  George 
B.  Chandler,  of  Manchester,  in  the  first  district,  and 
Jewett  B.  Hosley,  of  Lebanon,  in  the  second.  Chand 
ler  was  one  of  the  leading  bankers  of  the  State,  who 
with  other  leading  Democrats  of  New  Hampshire  sup 
ported  McKinley  for  President  in  1896. 

Charles  F.  Stone,  of  Laconia,  was  elected  chairman 
of  the  Democratic  State  committee,  and  Herbert  F. 
Norris,  of  Concord,  secretary.  Stone  had  been  iden 
tified  with  the  Republican  party  until  the  campaign 
of  1880.  He  was  subsequently  the  nominee  of  the 
Democratic  party  for  Congress  in  the  first  district,  and 
still  later  its  candidate  for  governor.  During  Cleve 
land's  second  term  as  President,  he  was  appointed 
naval  officer  at  the  port  of  Boston.  After  retiring 


448  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

from  this  position,  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the 
superior  court,  a  position  he  now  holds. 

Never  had  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire 
stood  in  such  peril  as  it  did  when  the  State  Convention 
adjourned.  The  Manchester  delegates  returned  to 
their  home  disappointed  and  threatening  a  bolt. 
Cheshire  County,  the  home  of  Hale,  was  in  open  re 
volt  over  the  nomination.  The  hostility  to  his  election 
was  nowhere  more  pronounced  than  in  his  own  locality. 
It  looked  as  though  a  Democratic  governor  was  a  cer 
tainty  by  the  popular  vote,  and  it  was  feared  that  a 
Democratic  legislature  would  accompany  a  Democratic 
governor  to  the  State  House  the  following  June. 

The  term  of  Rollins  as  United  States  Senator  ex 
pired  March  4,  1883.  Besides  the  control  of  the  State 
government,  there  was  dangling  before  the  eyes  of  the 
now  confident  Democratic  party  the  prize  of  one  sena- 
torship,  and  possibly  two.  The  United  States  Senate  at 
that  time,  as  has  been  shown,  was  evenly  divided,  David 
Davis,  the  Independent,  generally  voting  with  the 
Democratic  party,  and  William  Mahone,  of  Virginia, 
with  the  Republicans.  The  opposition  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator 
in  1881,  to  succeed  Rollins,  had  been  political  rather 
than  legal,  and,  if  they  secured  control  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  1883,  there  was  no  reason  to  believe  that  their 
action  in  the  legislature  of  1881  would  preclude  them 
from  attempting  to  elect  both  Rollins' s  and  Blair's  suc 
cessors.  A  question  of  one  or  two  Senators  from  New 
Hampshire  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  national  Democ- 


ROLLINS'S   LAST   CAMPAIGN  449 

racy,  and  'New  Hampshire  Democrats  received  en 
couragement  from  outside  the  State. 

The  Eepublicans  began  their  campaign  against  the 
Democratic  party  under  the  most  discouraging  circum 
stances.  It  was  known  that  Manchester,  the  largest 
city  in  the  State,  was  likely  to  give  a  majority  for  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  governor.  Cheshire  County, 
the  Western  Keserve  of  the  Republican  party  of  New 
Hampshire,  which  had  never  before  failed  the  party 
in  returning  a  good  majority,  would  probably  follow 
suit.  The  Republican  State  committee  met  amid 
gloom  and  despair  to  complete  its  organization.  Jacob 
H.  Gallinger,  who  had  shown  capacity  as  a  political 
organizer,  was  chosen  chairman,  as  the  representative 
of  the  Hale  forces.  Frank  D.  Currier,  of  Canaan,  as 
representing  the  Currier  supporters,  was  chosen  sec 
retary. 

Gallinger  had  been  active  in  politics  for  ten  years 
or  more.  His  beginning  was  at  the  printer's  case,  from 
which  he  graduated  to  enter  upon  the  study  of  medi 
cine.  After  several  years  of  successful  practice  as  a 
physician,  he  entered  the  public  service,  to  be  ever 
after  identified  with  State  and  national  interests.  At 
the  time  of  his  election  as  chairman  of  the  State  com 
mittee,  >  he  had  served  in  both  branches  of  the  legisla 
ture,  where  he  had  shown  himself  a  ready  debater  and 
parliamentary  leader.  He  was  also  known  to  the  pub 
lic  as  a,  brilliant  speaker  and  versatile  writer.  He  was 
soon  to  embark  on  a  career  in  national  politics  dis 
tancing  all  records  in  the  number  of  his  elections 


450  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  the  hold  he  has  had  on  the  affectionate  regard  of 
the  people  of  the  State.  His  public  life  has  been  a 
constant  growth.  As  chairman  of  the  State  committee, 
as  Congressman,  and  as  Senator,  his  achievements  have 
been  large  and  his  success  adequate  to  any  ambition. 
Of  untiring  industry,  pleasing  address,  ready  adapta 
bility,  he  has  secured  triumphs  where  others  have 
failed.  Three  times  elected  to  the  United  States  Sen- 

V 

ate,  he  now  stands  number  ten  in  seniority  of  service 
in  that  body,  and  among  the  first  in  the  importance 
of  his  committee  assignments. 

Frank  D.  Currier,  the  new  secretary  of  the  State 
committee,  first  came  into  prominence  in  the  legisla 
ture  of  1879  through  his  activities  and  familiarity 
with  parliamentary  procedure.  Subsequent  to  his  serv 
ice  on  the  State  committee,  he  served  as  naval  officer 
of  customs  at  Boston,  and  later  was  elected  Speaker 
of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  and  member  of 
Congress.  As  Speaker,  he  showed  remarkable  aptitude 
for  the  position,  and  he  has  attained  prominence  in 
the  national  House  as  its  most  popular  presiding 
officer  in  committee  of  the  whole,  where  most  of  the 
business  is  transacted.  He  has  entered  upon  his  third 
term  as  a  Congressman. 

It  was  in  a  situation  such  as  already  outlined  that 
Rollins  entered  headquarters  to  conduct  his  last  cam 
paign.  If  the  State  were  lost,  he  would  not  be  returned 
to  the  Senate.  If  the  State  were  saved,  the  party  was 
so  broken  by  this  gubernatorial  contest  that  "factional 
quarrels  might  reach  into  the  Senatorial  caucus.  In  a 


EOLLINS'S   LAST    CAMPAIGN  451 

number  of  Western  and  Middle  States  there  had  been 
successful  bolting  of  Senatorial  caucuses  and  prolonged 
deadlocks.  Old  leaders  had  been  retired  and  new  men 
chosen  to  the  Senate.  President  Arthur  was  endeavor 
ing  to  harmonize  the  party  in  the  country  at  large 
divided  by  the  Blaine-Conkling  antagonism.  No  help 
could  be  expected  from  the  Republican  national  com 
mittee.  Its  efforts  must  be  directed  to  larger  States. 
New  Hampshire  must  depend  upon  herself.  Had  the 
•end  come  to  Republican  victories  in  the  Granite  State  ? 
Many  thought  so.  A  Democratic  Congress  was  expected 
as  the  result  of  the  fall  elections.  Was  New  Hampshire 
to  contribute  to  the  probable  Democratic  victory? 
Was  the  Democratic  party  to  have  a  Senator  from  this 
State  for  the  first  time  in  thirty  years  ?  The  political 
atmosphere  foreboded  disaster.  What,  if  anything, 
could  be  done  to  dispel  the  apathy,  arouse  the  courage 
of  New  Hampshire  Republicans,  and  bring  peace  to  the 
discordant  factions? 

Rollins  at  once  saw  that  the  fight  must  be  fought  on 
national,  rather  than  State,  issues.  A  Republican  Pres 
ident  and  an  equally  divided  Senate  stood  between  the 
country  and  a  Democratic  assault  on  the  tariff  and  an 
attempt  to  reverse  the  fruits  of  the  war.  The  removal 
of  the  political  disabilities  of  Jefferson  Davis  had  just 
been  prevented  in  the  Senate  by  one  vote.  The  feeling 
was  still  strong  in  New  Hampshire  against  the  ascend 
ency  in  the  nation  of  those  who  had  participated  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.  The  next  Presidential  election 
might  be  lost,  as  proved  to  be  the  case.  The  United 


452  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

States  Senate  alone  was  the  sheet-anchor  of  the  Repub 
lican  party.  New  Hampshire  Republicans  were  still 
loyal  to  the  principles  of  the  party.  If  they  could  be 
aroused  to  the  dangers  that  menaced  the  party  in  the 
nation,  even  if  the  governor  were  lost,  the  legislature 
of  New  Hampshire  might  be  saved,  and  thereby  a 
United  States  Senator. 

The  importance  of  one  vote  was  again  brought  home 
to  the  voters,  and  the  bearing  of  that  one  vote  on  na 
tional  affairs.  On©  vote  in  the  town  might  save  Repub 
lican  ascendency  in  the  legislature.  One  vote  in  the 
legislature  might  save  the  United  States  Senatorship. 
One  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  might  stand  in  the 
way  of  a  complete  national  triumph  of  the  Democratic 
party.  This  was  the  issue  forced  to  the  front  in  the 
press,  on  the  stump,  and  in  the  correspondence  of  the 
State  committee.  Never  was  a  campaign  in  New 
Hampshire  conducted  with  greater  skill  and  greater 
success.  Gallinger,  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  en 
tered  heart  and  soul  into  the  suggestions  of  Rollins,  and 
developed  at  that  time  those  remarkable  qualities  for 
organization  that  have  kept  him  for  so  many  years  at 
the  head  of  the  State  committee  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  the  party.  He  was  in  touch  with  the  younger  ele 
ment  of  the  party,  who  had  never  fought  under  the 
personal  direction  of  Rollins.  In  the  nearly  six  years 
the  latter  had  been  in  the  Senate,  he  had  been  removed 
from  intimate  intercourse  with  the  generation  coming 
upon  the  stage.  These  young  men  were  superseding 


ROLLINS'S   LAST    CAMPAIGN  453 

the  contemporaries  of  Eollins  in  all  parts  of  the  State. 
They  were  brought  by  Gallinger  into  more  prominent 
activity. 

Little  could  be  hoped  from  the  disaffected  districts, 
yet  they  were  not  neglected.  Probably  more  personal 
letters  were  written  to  local  Republicans  by  the  com 
mittee  in  this  campaign  than  in  any  other  in  the  history 
of  the  party.  They  contained  appeals  for  harmony  and 
for  party  loyalty.  Eepublicans  were  particularly  urged 
to  see  that  disaffection  did  not  extend  beyond  the  head 
of  the  ticket.  The  best  that  the  committee  hoped  was 
to  prevent  a  choice  of  governor  by  the  people,  relying 
upon  a  Republican  majority  in  the  legislature  to  elect 
the  governor.  Two  other  State  tickets  were  in  the 
field,  a  Temperance  and  a  Greenback  ticket.  The  total 
third  party  and  scattering  vote  in  the  election  of  1880 
was  less  than  a  thousand.  There  was  no  prospect  that 
this  would  be  increased.  Bolting  Republicans  either 
would  not  vote  for  governor  or  would  cast  their  ballots 
for  Edgerly,  so  intense  was  their  hostility  to  Hale.  The 
danger  lay  in  the  latter  course.  To  prevent  the  defeat 
of  the  Republican  nominee  for  governor  by  the  popular 
vote,  the  energies  of  the  committee  were  enlisted  to 
bringing  out  the  full  Republican  vote  in  strong  Repub 
lican  and  strong  Democratic  towns,  a  new  experiment 
in  New  Hampshire  politics,  where  the  fight  was  mainly 
made  in  the  close  towns.  Its  success  was  the  turning- 
point  in  the  campaign. 

In  few  campaigns  did  Rollins  appear  to  better  ad- 


454  LIFE   OF  EDWABD   H.   ROLLINS 

vantage  as  a  political  manager.  He  was  then  in  his 
sixtieth  year.  His  intense  application  to  all  matters 
that  enlisted  his  attention  had  not  perceptibly  impaired 
either  his  mental  or  physical  strength.  Of  wiry  con 
stitution,  he  responded  to  the  exactions  of  the  campaign 
with  remarkable  staying  and  recuperative  powers.  The 
tension,  however,  was  great.  The  daily  reports  coming 
to  headquarters  were  all  of  the  same  discouraging  char 
acter.  Both  Rollins  and  Gallinger  had  not  only  to  show 
courage  and  confidence,  but  to  infuse  them  into  others. 
Both  had  reputations  at  stake.  With  Rollins,  it  was  his 
prestige  to  maintain.  With  Gallinger,  it  was  his  repu 
tation  to  make.  With  Rollins,  who  had  led  to  so  many 
victories,  it  might  prove  his  Waterloo.  The  association 
of  these  two  men,  the  one  just  entering  upon  what  was 
to  be  a  distinguished  career,  and  the  other  with  his  large 
experience,  both  in  State  and  national  politics,  was 
most  fortunate  for  the  party,  and  the  party  had  need  of 
both  men  in  this  trying  campaign. 

The  night  of  the  election  there  was  little  confidence 
among  Republicans  in  the  result.  For  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  Republican  party  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  its  canvass  was  uncertain.  It  foretold  nothing 
with  accuracy,  except  losses  in  the  disaffected  sections. 
Anxious  leaders  of  the  party  crowded  the  Republican 
headquarters.  The  early  returns  confirmed  their  worst 
fears.  Town  after  town,  and  ward  after  ward  reported 
Republican  losses  and  Democratic  gains  on  the  gov 
ernor  vote.  The  election  of  Edgerly  seemed  a  foregone 


ROLLINS' s  LAST  CAMPAIGN  455 

conclusion,  and  the  legislature  hung  in  doubt.  It  was 
well  into  the  night  before  returns  were  received  from 
the  strong  Republican  and  strong  Democratic  towns, 
where  the  committee  had  done  its  effective  work.  Then, 
to  the  consternation  of  the  Democrats  and  to  the  joy  of 
the  Republicans,  the  tide  began  to  turn.  It  was  soon 
apparent  that  the  legislature  was  Republican,  and  that 
Edgerly  had  not  received  a  majority  of  the  popular  vote. 
The  Democratic  leaders  had  been  outgeneraled  and  the 
State  was  saved.  The  next  day  the  committee  was  able 
to  give  out  returns  that  Hale  was  elected  by  the  people. 
His  majority  was  only  a  little  over  five  hundred.  It 
was  a  victory  snatched  from  the  very  jaws  of  defeat. 
None  who  participated  in  that  remarkable  campaign 
can  forget  its  struggles,  its  anxieties,  its  doubts,  and  its 
fears,  or  the  feeling  of  relief  that  came  after  midnight 
of  the  day  of  election.  It  was  Rollins's  last  campaign. 
He  had  fought  it  with  an  intensity  which  subordinated 
even  his  personal  interests  to  the  welfare  of  the  party. 
He  had  completed  his  record  of  continuous  victory 
where  he  had  personally  directed  or  advised  in  the  cam 
paigns.  He  was  soon  to  enter  upon  the  last  stage  of  his 
political  career.  He  was  to  fail  of  a  reelection  to  the 
Senate,  as  the  Republican  leaders  in  other  States  had 
failed,  after  a  Senatorial  caucus  had  recorded  that  a 
majority  of  the  Republicans  of  the  State,  through  their 
chosen  representatives,  desired  to  reward  his  services 
and  fidelity  by  a  reelection. 

The  vote  for  governor  was:  Scattering,  168;  Josiah 


456  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

M.  Fletcher,  35Y;  John  F.  Woodbury,  444;  Martin  V. 
B.  Edgerly,  36,916;  Samuel  W.  Hale,  38,402. 

Both  Kepuhlican  candidates  for  Congress  were 
elected  by  large  majorities,  and  the  legislature  was 
safely  Republican. 


CHAPTEK  XXV. 


DEFEAT    FOR    RE  -  ELECTION 

THERE  were  seven  months  to  intervene  between  the 
election  and  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  Three 
months  of  this  time  Rollins  spent  in  Washington,  at  the 
short  session  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress.  He  began 
his  campaign  for  a  renomination  soon  after  the  election 
was  over,  but  it  was  not  until  after  March  4,  1883,  that 
he  could  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  canvass. 
Yet,  on  his  return  to  New  Hampshire,  he  knew  quite 
accurately  the  individual  choice  of  the  Republican 
members  of  the  legislature.  He  felt  satisfied  that  he 
would  secure  a  majority  of  the  Republican  Senatorial 
caucus,  if  not  on  the  first,  at  least  on  the  second  ballot. 
As  early  as  April,  the  impression  became  general  that, 
if  a  Republican  caucus  were  to  determine  the  result, 
Rollins  would  be  his  own  successor.  The  air,  however, 
was  pregnant  with  forebodings  of  disaster.  Bolting 
of  Republican  caucuses  in  other  States  had  become  quite 
common.  The  bolt  two  years  before  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  on  the  question  of  the  right  of  the  legislature 
of  1881  to  elect  a  Senator,  was  still  fresh  in  men's 
minds,  and,  the  step  having  been  once  taken,  it  was 
easier  to  repeat  it.  The  bitterness  of  the  late  strife 

467 


458  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  was  by  no  means  al 
layed.  Both  Rollins  and  Chandler  had  been  accused 
of  using  their  influence  to  defeat  Currier  and  nominate 
Hale,  a  charge  which  both  emphatically  denied.  The 
denial  availed  nothing.  Especially  bitter  towards  Rol 
lins  were  the  opponents  of  Hale  in  Cheshire  County, 
while  there  was  but  little  friendship  for  him  in  Man 
chester.  From  April  to  June,  the  question  of  bolting 
the  result  of  the  Republican  Senatorial  caucus  forged 
its  way  into  the  foreground. 

The  legislature  met  June  6,  1883.  The  Senate  or 
ganized  by  the  choice  of  Charles  H.  Bartlett,  of  Man 
chester,  as  president,  and  Frank  D.  Currier,  of  Canaan, 
as  clerk.  Bartlett  had  been  mayor  of  Manchester.  He 
was  a  man  of  attainments  and  popular  as  a  speaker 
at  public  gatherings.  A  prominent  member  of  the  Sen 
ate  was  Harry  Bingham,  who  appeared  for  the  first 
time  in  the  upper  branch  of  the  legislature.  Another 
representative  Democrat  in  this  body  was  Irving  W. 
Drew,  of  Lancaster,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  advocates 
of  the  State,  and  later  to  become  identified  with  the  Re 
publican  party.  Other  well-known  members  of  the 
Senate  were  Chester  Pike,  of  Cornish,  J.  F.  Seavey, 
of  Dover,  Charles  H.  Amsden,  of  Concord,  afterwards 
Democratic  candidate  for  governor,  Henry  Robinson, 
of  Concord,  later  mayor  of  that  city,  and  postmaster  of 
the  capital  for  two  terms,  George  W.  Cummings,  of 
Francestown,  George  A.  Wason,  of  New  Boston,  Ben 
jamin  R.  Wheeler,  of  Salem,  and  Benjamin  F.  Per 
kins,  of  Bristol. 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        459 

The  House  organized  with  the  choice  of  Samuel  C. 
Eastman,  of  Concord,  as  Speaker.  Eastman  was  the 
best  parliamentarian  in  the  State,  and  at  this  session 
enunciated  the  principle  of  counting  a  quorum,  although 
the  House  did  not  adopt  his  views.  This  was  some  six 
years  before  Speaker  Thomas  B.  Reed  counted  a  quo 
rum  in  the  national  House  of  Representatives.  In 
1893,  Eastman,  as  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire 
House  of  Representatives,  and  temporarily  in  the  chair, 
counted  a  quorum,  with  the  approval  of  the  majority 
of  the  House  and  without  formal  objection  from  the 
minority. 

Three  candidates  for  the  United  States  Senate  were 
members  of  the  House,  Oilman  Marston,  Aaron  F.  Ste 
vens,  and  James  F.  Briggs.  Other  prominent  Republi 
can  members  of  the  House  were  William  C.  Todd,  of 
Atkinson,  William  H.  Sise,  of  Portsmouth,  John  J. 
Bell,  of  Exeter,  Alonzo  H.  Quint  and  Thomas  M. 
Pray,  of  Dover,  Eugene  P.  Nute,  of  Farmington,  Ed 
win  Wallace,  Charles  S.  Whitehouse,  and  John  E. 
Meader,  of  Rochester,  Christopher  H.  Wells  and  James 
A.  Edgerly,  of  Somersworth,  Allen  J.  Hackett,  of  Bel- 
mont,  Benjamin  F.  Drake,  of  Gilford,  Ithiel  E.  Clay, 
of  Chatham,  Charles  R.  Corning,  of  Concord,  John  S. 
Kimball,  of  Hopkinton,  Jeremiah  E.  Smith,  of  North- 
field,  David  A.  Taggart,  of  Goffstown,  Charles  T. 
Means  and  Walter  M.  Parker,  of  Manchester,  Charles 
H.  Campbell  and  George  E.  Gage,  of  Nashua,  Charles 
J.  Amidon,  of  Hinsdale,  Ira  Colby  and  George  L.  Bal- 


460  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

com,  of  Claremont,  William  ~F,  Westgate,  of  Haverhill, 
and  George  H.  Adams,  of  Plymouth. 

The  prominent  Democratic  members  were  Henry  0. 
Kent  and  William  S.  Ladd,  of  Lancaster,  Edward  B.  S. 
Sanborn,  of  Franklin,  David  Urch,  of  Portsmouth, 
John  T.  Busiel  and  Charles  F.  Stone,  of  Laconia,  Jo 
seph  Q.  Eoles,  of  Ossipee,  Edwin  Snow,  of  Eaton, 
Jacob  B.  Whittemore,  of  Hillsboro,  Fred  A.  Barker, 
of  Keene,  and  William  H.  Cummings,  of  Lisbon. 

With  the  assembling  of  the  legislature,  all  the  influ 
ential  Republicans  of  the  State  were  drawn  to  the  cap 
ital  by  their  interest  in  the  Senatorial  contest.  The 
election  or  defeat  of  Rollins  was  soon  the  only  question 
under  consideration,  the  following  of  other  candidates 
being  only  a  factor  so  far  as  it  might  affect  caucus  ac 
tion.  It  was  not  long  before  the  alignment  was  of  two 
forces,  caucus  and  anti-caucus  Republicans.  Marston 
and  Stevens  were  outspoken  against  a  caucus,  and  for 
a  time  Briggs  occupied  a  non-committal  position.  The 
two  former  had  nothing  to  lose  by  refusing  to  attend 
a  caucus,  for  it  was  not  likely  that  either  would  figure 
in  another  senatorial  canvass.  Neither  could  secure  a 
caucus  nomination.  A  free  voting  in  the  legislature 
did  offer  a  chance  for  Marston,  for  it  was  possible  that 
the  Democrats  would  support  him,  if  he  could  muster 
enough  Republican  votes  to  make  with  the  Democrats 
a  majority  of  the  legislature.  With  both  Marston  and 
Stevens,  however,  there  was  a  pronounced  hostility  to 
Rollins's  reelection,  overshadowing  all  other  feelings. 

The   situation   of  Briggs   was   different.      He   had 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        461 

served  three  terms  in  Congress,  with  credit  to  himself, 
and,  representing  the  largest  centre  of  the  State,  could 
reasonably  hope  for  an  election  to  the  Senate  in  the 
near  future,  if  not  at  this  time.  He  and  Rollins  had 
drifted  apart  while  serving  the  State  the  past  six  years, 
the  on©  in  the  House  and  the  other  in  the  Senate. 
Their  differences  had  arisen  mainly  over  the  control 
of  the  federal  patronage.  One  misunderstanding  had 
followed  another,  and  their  rival  Senatorial  ambitions 
had  promoted  their  estrangements.  Briggs  had  asked 
for  a  change  in  the  office  of  the  internal  revenue  col 
lector  for  New  Hampshire,  and  brought  forward  as  a 
candidate  Henry  M.  Putney,  of  Manchester,  to  succeed 
Andrew  H.  Young,  of  Dover,  who  then  held  the  office. 

Putney  at  that  time  was  one  of  the  younger  leaders 
of  the  party.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  editor 
of  the  Manchester  Mirror.  He  has  a  racy  style  of  pre 
senting  facts  to  the  public,  which  fascinates  his  readers. 
His  letters  from  the  capital  during  the  sessions  of  the 
legislature,  then  a  feature  of  the  Mirror,  gave  the  peo 
ple  an  entertaining  insight  into  the  work  of  their  rep 
resentatives  and  of  public  men  of  the  State.  Optimistic 
in  temperament,  at  that  time,  he  drew  the  young  men 
to  him  as  a  leader,  and  for  a  decade  or  more  the  edi 
torial  sanctum  of  the  Mirror  was  the  inspiration  of 
much  of  the  politics  of  the  State. 

Young  was  a  man  of  activity  and  ability.  He  had 
been  prominent  in  politics  since  the  birth  of  the  Re 
publican  party.  With  a  genial  personality  which  dis 
armed  hostility,  he  was  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship 


462  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.    ROLLINS 

with  most  of  the  leaders.  ~Not  an  original  Rollins  sup 
porter,  he  had  within  recent  years  become  identified 
with  Rollins's  interests.  The  latter  regarded  Putney 
as  Briggs's  lieutenant,  and,  while  consenting  to  Young's 
resignation  and  Putney's  appointment,  sought  to  pre 
vent  the  change  from  accruing  to  his  own  detriment. 
It  was  soon  publicly  known  that  Young  was  ready  to 
resign,  but  privately  he  had  asked  Rollins  to  delay  the 
date.  Responding  to  this  request,  Rollins  held  up  Put 
ney's  appointment.  Lack  of  frankness  between  Rol 
lins  and  Briggs  led  to  their  suspicion  of  each  other 
over  an  appointment  to  which  they  were  in  many  re 
spects  agreed.  Rollins  suffered  because  of  the  delay 
in  making  the  change,  for  the  public  interpreted  his 
attitude  as  that  of  trying  to  keep  Young  in  office  when 
the  latter  was  willing  to  retire.  When  Putney's  ap 
pointment  finally  came,  it  inured  wholly  to  Briggs's 
advantage. 

During  the  administrations  of  Garfield  and  Arthur, 
changes  had  been  asked  in  several  important  post- 
offices  in  the  State.  The  occupants  were  Rollins's  sup 
porters.  They  had  befriended  him  in  various  can 
vasses  for  Congress  and  the  Senate,  but  some  of  them 
had  survived  their  days  of  influence,  and  had  been 
superseded  by  younger  men  in  the  control  of  the  party 
in  their  respective  localities.  Rollins,  however,  never 
deserted  a  friend,  and  he  steadfastly  opposed  their  re 
moval.  As  the  senior  Senator  in  the  Senate,  he  had 
the  larger  influence  of  members  of  the  delegation  in 
bestowing  the  federal  patronage,  and  so  carried  his 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        463 

point.  His  control  of  the  patronage  was  to  him,  as  it 
has  been  to  others,  a  source  of  weakness,  and  con 
tributed  to  his  defeat.  The  office-holders  he  saved  were 
powerless  to  aid  him,  while  those  who  were  disap 
pointed  in  their  ambitions  became  his  active  and  poten 
tial  opponents. 

In  addition  to  the  opposition  arising  out  of  personal 
grievances  and  the  opposition  of  rival  ambitions,  Rol 
lins  had  to  face  his  own  shibboleth  in  previous  cam 
paigns,  "  rotation  in  office.'7  Patterson  had  been  re 
tired  after  one  term  in  the  Senate,  and  so  had  Wadleigh. 
Except  Hale  and  Cragin,  no  Republican  Senator  from 
New  Hampshire  had  received  two  full  terms.  If 
Rollins  were  given  a  second  term,  then  Blair  might 
claim  a  reelection.  If  both  were  reflected,  the  rota 
tion  principle  was  likely  to  be  set  aside.  Then,  again, 
the  old  question,  which  legislature  should  fill  a  Sena 
torial  term,  the  one  elected,  or  the  one  elected  and  or 
ganized,  before  its  expiration,  arose  for  consideration. 
Both  Rollins  and  Blair  believed  that  the  duty  devolved 
upon  the  legislature  organized  before  the  expiration 
of  the  term.  If  their  view  prevailed,  the  legislature 
then  in  session  would  elect  both  Rollins' s  and  Blair's 
successors.  That  it  might  prevail  seemed  probable,  for 
Blair  and  his  friends  were  openly  advocating  it,  while 
Briggs  was  known  to  be  committed  to  that  view. 

A  call  for  a  Senatorial  caucus  was  issued,  but,  prior 
to  the  assembling  of  the  caucus,  another  call  was  sent 
out  by  the  anti-caucus  representatives  for  a  confer 
ence  of  Republican  members  of  the  legislature,  to  be 


464  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

held  the  night  previous  to  the  date  set  for  the  Senatorial 
caucus.  This  conference  was  attended  by  all  of  the 
opponents  and  most  of  the  friends  of  Rollins.  The 
former  took  charge  of  the  meeting,  and  did  most  of  the 
talking.  Marston  and  Stevens  declared  their  hostility 
to  Rollins's  reelection.  They  absolutely  refused  to  be 
bound  by  caucus  action.  Briggs  announced  his  unwill 
ingness  to  abide  by  a  decision  of  a  caucus  unless  all 
Republicans  participated.  The  caucus  principle  was 
advocated  by  Quint  and  Whitehouse.  No  attempt  was 
made  to  secure  a  vote  on  the  question  of  holding  a 
caucus,  each  side  being  uncertain  what  that  vote  would 
disclose.  The  question  of  the  election  of  two  Senators 
also  came  up  for  consideration.  Briggs  declared  him 
self  in  favor  of  such  an  election.  Stevens  and  Marston 
said  that,  while  on  record  against  it,  they  would  make 
no  factious  opposition  thereto  if  a  majority  of  the 
Republican  members  of  the  legislature  favored  it.  The 
conference  then  adjourned. 

This  conference  surprised  and  alarmed  a  very  large 
majority  of  the  Republicans  of  the  State.  Whether 
favoring  Rollins's  reelection  or  not,  they  foresaw  peril 
to  the  party,  and  feared  for  its  integrity.  Their  ap 
prehension  and  feelings  are  well  expressed  by  the 
following  extract  from  two  Republican  newspapers, 
whose  editors  were  representative  Republicans.  The 
first  is  from  the  Lebanon  Free  Press,  edited  by  Elias 
H.  Cheney,  long  active  in  party  work.  Cheney  had 
shown  his  preference  for  Rollins's  renomination  and 
represented  the  views  of  Rollins's  supporters. 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        465 

The  other  extract  is  from  the  Nashua  Telegraph, 
whose  editor  was  Orrin  C.  Moore.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Moore  dramatically  opposed  Rollins's  election  to 
the  Senate  of  1876.  In  this  canvass  his  position  was 
neutral,  as  to  candidates,  while  urging  caucus  action. 
His  views,  therefore,  were  those  of  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  Republicans  in  the  State  who  could  not  be 
counted  as  Rollins's  supporters,  but  who  would  have 
been  satisfied  with  Rollins  or  any  other  candidate  nom 
inated  by  a  Republican  caucus. 

The  Lebanon  Free  Press  said : 

"  If  anybody  can  give  a  decent  reason  why  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  the  president  of  the  Senate,  the 
secretary  of  State,  the  State  treasurer,  and  the  State 
printer  should  be  nominated  by  a  Republican  caucus, 
and  the  Republican  members  of  the  legislature  be  bound 
by  the  action  of  the  caucus,  and  yet  those  same  members 
not  be  bound  by  a  nomination  made  in  precisely  the 
same  manner,  for  U.  S.  Senator,  we  should  be  glad  to 
have  him  do  it.  It  can't  be  done,  and  every  man  of 
sense  knows  it  can't  be  done.  If  a  regular  nomination 
for  any  one  of  these  offices  may  be  ignored  consistently 
with  party  fealty,  so  may  any  other.  But  then  there  is 
an  end  of  all  party  efficiency.  It  is  just  as  well  to 
look  this  thing  right  in  the  face.  We  care  very  little 
for  men ;  we  would  as  cheerfully  support  any  one  of 
the  gentlemen  who  have  been  named  for  the  office  if 
he  had  commanded  a  majority  of  the  caucus  vote.  But 
we  do  care  a  great  deal  for  the  integrity  of  the  Repub 
lican  party,  and  by  that  we  propose  to  stand.  That  is 


466  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

safe  ground.  It  is  ground  upon  which  any  man  can 
safely  stand,  and  time  will  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  his 
action.  It  will  stand  the  test  of  time,  when  the  passions 
of  the  hour  have  cooled.  But  it  will  be  said  that  it  was 
not  a  full  caucus ;  that  large  numbers  were  absent.  Very 
well,  they  had  no  business  to  be  absent.  They  were 
not  elected  for  any  such  purpose.  They  were  elected 
as  Republicans,  to  go  into  a  Republican  caucus  and 
abide  by  the  action  of  that  caucus.  If  they  did  not 
betray  their  constituents  when  they  failed  to  do  so,  we 
do  not  know  how  they  could  go  to  work  to  betray  them. 
The  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  have  not  won 
their  victories  in  this  way;  they  will  win  no  more 
victories,  and  deserve  to  win  none,  till  they  come  back 
to  the  old  paths." 

The  Telegraph  said: 

"  We  listened  on  Wednesday  night  with  much  inter 
est  to  the  statements  made  by  the  several  speakers  who 
opposed  the  usual  method  of  selecting  a  Republican 
candidate  for  Senator.  We  expected  to  hear  some  over 
powering  reasons  why  Republicans  should  discard  the 
majority  rule  in  settling  their  difficulties.  For  our 
selves  we  have  been  unable  to  see  any  way  by  which  the 
rule  can  be  discarded  and  the  Republican  party  held 
together.  Here  are  four  or  five  distinguished  Republi 
cans,  who  heretofore  have  held  to  the  rule  in  all  their 
political  relations.  They  have  never  before  indicated, 
by  word  or  act,  that  it  could  be  safely  discarded.  Now, 
just  as  they  are  about  to  lay  off  the  political  harness, 
they  tell  the  men  who  are  to  succeed  them  that  the  rule 


DEFEAT  FOR  EE  -  ELECTION        467 

has  a  dangerous  flaw.  This  is  a  late,  a  very  late  dis 
covery.  It  com.es  in  a  heated  moment,  when  the  foun 
tains  of  ambition  are  broken  up,  and  personal  stake  is 
greater  than  party  interest. 

"  The  majority  rule  is  a  principle.  There  is  none 
more  fundamental.  It  underlies  the  whole  Republican 
system.  Its  counterpart  in  the  State  and  nation  is 
anarchy.  It  is  the  same  in  a  party.  When  the  choice 
of  men  and  measures  cannot  be  determined  by  the  ma 
jority  rule,  nothing  remains  but  disintegration  and  de 
feat.  There  is  not  an  officer,  from  fence-viewer  to 
President,  that  is  not  settled  by  the  constitution  on  this 
principle,  and  for  all  purposes  a  majority  of  one  is  as 
good  as  a  majority  of  a  thousand.  If  the  purpose  be 
to  send  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire  into  a 
hopeless  minority  for  ten  or  twenty  years,  a  short,  swift, 
and  certain  way  to  accomplish  it  is  to  stamp  out  the 
principle  of  the  rule  of  the  majority. 

"  We  can  see  no  reason  whatever  why  this  principle 
should  not  apply  to  Senators  as  well  as  to  Representa 
tives,  governors,  and  Presidents.  If  the  office  of  Sena 
tor  is  high,  as  it  is,  then  it  is  all  the  more  important 
for  a  party  to  dispose  of  it  by  the  principle  of  the 
rule  of  the  majority  than  by  a  throw  of  the  dice.  If 
any  one  of  the  candidates  before  the  legislature  felt  that 
he  had  a  majority,  would  he  not  insist  on  the  rule? 
Every  one.  Then  what  is  good  for  one  is  good  for  all/' 

The  day  following  the  conference  was  devoted  by  each 
side  to  consolidating  its  forces.  The  opponents  of  a 
caucus  circulated  for  signature  a  paper  pledging  its 


468  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

signers  to  stay  out  of  the  caucus  and  not  be  bound  by 
its  action.  Before  the  close  of  the  day,  they  knew 
that  they  had  secured  enough  signatures  to  prevent 
Rollins' s  election  in  the  legislature  if  all  who  signed 
the  paper  adhered  to  their  pledges.  This  was  made 
manifest  to  all  when  the  caucus  assembled  in  the  eve 
ning.  Of  the  206  Republican  members  of  the  legisla 
ture  only  130  voted  in  the  caucus.  The  members  at 
tending  proceeded  immediately  to  business,  on  motion 
to  ballot  for  a  Senator  to  succeed  Rollins.  This  ballot 
gave  Rollins  98  of  the  130  votes  cast.1  The  motion  to 
make  the  nomination  unanimous  was  carried  with  only 
seven  dissenting  votes.  Rollins  appeared  before  the 
caucus,  and  accepted  the  nomination  in  a  brief  speech, 
expressing  his  appreciation  and  gratitude  for  the 
honors  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Republican 
party  of  New  Hampshire,  and  pointing  to  his  record 
as  an  earnest  of  his  future  service  if  elected.  He  made 
no  direct  reference  to  the  prospective  bolt  of  his  nom 
ination. 

The  caucus  then  voted,  with  some  opposition,  to 
proceed  to  the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  Senator 
Blair's  seat  in  the  Senate.  Blair  received  74  of  the  97 
votes  cast.2  Nothing  came  of  this  effort  to  elect  a  sec 
ond  Senator,  the  question  being  entirely  overshadowed 

1  Mason  W.  Tappan,  1 ;  William  E.  Chandler,  1  ;  Ossian  Ray,  1  ; 
Aaron  F.  Stevens,  4  ;  Jaines  F.  Briggs,  7  ;   James  W.  Patterson,  18  ; 
Edward  H.  Rollins,  98. 

2  Aaron  F.    Stevens,  1  ;   James  F.  Briggs,   2  ;    Ossian  Ray,   3  ; 
Mason  W.  Tappan,  3  ;    Oilman  Marston,   4  ;    James  W.  Patterson, 
10  ;  Henry  W.  Blair,  74. 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        469 

by  the  larger  one  of  the  bolt  of  caucus  action  in  the 
nomination  of  Rollins. 

The  caucus  disclosed  that  a  considerable  majority  of 
the  Republican  representatives  favored  caucus  action. 
It  also  showed  that  on  the  ballot  taken  to  nominate  his 
successor,  Rollins  lacked  six  votes  of  a  majority  of  the 
Republican  members  of  the  legislature.  The  conten 
tion  made  somewhat  later  by  some  of  the  anti-caucus 
men  was  that  Rollins,  not  having  received  in  the  caucus 
a  majority  of  the  whole  Republican  membership  of  the 
legislature,  was  not  entitled  to  their  support.  The  an 
swer  to  this  was  that,  if  they  could  have  prevented  Rol 
lins' s  receiving  a  majority  on  the  first  or  subsequent 
ballots  by  attending  the  caucus,  they  were  not  justified 
in  remaining  outside.  Patterson,  in  1872,  had  come 
within  seven  votes  on  one  ballot  of  a  renomination  in 
caucus,  and  failed  to  secure  a  majority.  There  was  no 
certainty  that  Rollins  might  not  likewise  fall  just  short 
of  the  necessary  majority  of  a  full  caucus.  This  jus 
tification  of  the  anti-caucus  men  was  an  afterthought, 
for  the  leaders  of  the  anti-caucus  movement  were  deter 
mined  to  defeat  Rollins's  reelection,  and  they  felt  surer 
of  doing  this  by  staying  out  of  the  caucus  than  by  at 
tending,  and  by  repudiating  later  the  action  of  its 
majority. 

Five  days  were  now  to  elapse  before  the  legislature 
would  vote  for  Senator.  The  time  was  employed  by 
each  side  in  attempting  to  create  sentiment  in  the  State. 
When  the  legislature  met  the  following  week,  Concord 
was  crowded  with  influential  Republicans  from  every 


470  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

part  of  New  Hampshire.  The  first  test  of  strength 
came  on  Tuesday,  June  19th,  when  the  two  houses  of 
the  legislature  voted  separately.  With  the  exception  of 
the  joint  ballot  the  next  day,  this  was  the  largest  vote 
cast  in  the  legislature  during  the  protracted  contest 
which  followed.  Combining  the  vote  of  the  two  houses 
for  each  candidate,  their  strength  June  19th  is  shown 
below.1 

The  two  houses  met  in  convention  the  next  day  with 
very  slight  change  in  the  relative  vote.  They  con 
tinued  to  meet  in  convention  each  legislative  day  until 
August  2d,  when  a  choice  was  effected.  Eollins's 
strength  fell  off  after  the  first  vote,  but  part  of  his  losa 
was  due  to  absenteeism,  when  it  became  apparent  that 
the  deadlock  was  to  be  prolonged.  No  material  gain 
was  made  by  any  of  the  other  original  candidates. 
After  the  legislature  had  voted  twenty-two  times,  cover 
ing  a  period  from  June  19th  to  July  12th,  it  became 
evident  to  Rollins  that  no  good  to  the  party  was  to  be 
subserved  by  his  remaining  a  candidate.  The  opposi 
tion  to  his  reelection  continued  intact  in  its  support  of 

1  Whole  number  of  votes          ......  328 

Necessary  for  a  choice 165 

Edward  H.  Rollins 127 

Harry  Bingham,  Democrat    .         .         .         .         .         .121 

James  F.  Briggs 28 

James  W.  Patterson       .......  22 

Aaron  F.  Stevens 17 

Oilman  Marston     ........  10 

William  S.  Ladd,  Democrat  ......  1 

Mason  W.  Tappan 1 

Charles  H.  Bell                                         .  1 


DEFEAT   FOR  RE-ELECTION  471 

various  candidates,  and  his  remaining  in  the  field  might 
prevent  an  election  of  Senator.  Disappointed  as  he 
was  at  the  result,  so  far  as  it  effected  his  personal  in 
terest,  his  party  loyalty  led  him  to  consider  the  future 
welfare  of  the  Republican  organization.  The  party 
needed  the  additional  vote  of  New  Hampshire  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  It  might  be  disastrous  to  the 
Republicans  in  the  nation,  as  well  as  in  the  State,  if 
the  legislature  adjourned  without  choosing  a  Senator. 
So,  after  first  proposing  to  withdraw  in  the  interest  of 
party  harmony,  if  the  other  candidates  would  do  the 
same,  and  failing  to  receive  from  them  any  response, 
he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Republican 
members  of  the  legislature: 

"  As  your  candidate  for  United  States  Senator,  reg 
ularly  nominated  in  accordance  with  the  time-honored 
usages  of  the  party,  I  have  for  several  weeks,  and  at 
nearly  every  vote  taken,  been  supported  by  a  majority 
of  you  with  entire  fidelity.  From  the  beginning  of 
the  canvass,  however,  my  election  has  been  opposed  by 
several  gentlemen  of  prominence  in  the  party,  who  have 
received  honors  at  its  hands  and  always  by  the  agency 
of  caucuses  and  conventions,  and  they  have  succeeded 
thus  far  in  thwarting  the  election  of  a  Senator  in  the 
legislature,  containing  ninety  Republican  majority. 
Convinced  at  length  that  the  interests  of  the  Republican 
party  require  a  speedy  termination  of  this  condition  of 
things,  I  have  proposed  to  the  four  gentlemen  who  have 
from  the  outset  repudiated  their  party  obligations  and 
stood  as  candidates  for  the  Senate,  in  defiance  of  the 


472  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

will  of  the  organization,  that  we  all  retire  from  the 
field  and  leave  it  open  to  the  further  consideration  of 
the  party.  This  proposal  has  not  been  accepted,  and 
I  leave  the  gentlemen  to  settle  their  account  in  this 
transaction  with  their  constituents  and  the  Republican 
party  of  New  Hampshire.  In  my  view  of  public  af 
fairs  I  am  thus  brought  to  face  an  important  personal 
responsibility.  In  an  active  membership  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  ever  since  its  birth,  in  seasons  of  victory 
and  defeat,  sometimes  in  a  position  of  leadership  and 
sometimes  as  a  private  in  its  ranks,  I  have  never  fal 
tered  in  supporting  its  principles,  its  nominations,  and 
its  accredited  modes  of  action.  Nor  have  I  hesitated 
to  make  any  sacrifice  of  my  personal  feelings  or  ambi 
tions  which  the  expressed  will  of  my  party  associates 
seemed  to  demand.  It  costs  me  no  heart-burnings  to 
tread  the  path  of  duty  again,  and,  therefore,  in  the  fur 
ther  interests  of  harmony  and  the  peace  of  the  party, 
in  whose  continued  ascendency  in  the  State  and  nation 
I  believe  the  best  interests  of  our  time  are  bound  up, 
and  for  which  I  am  as  solicitous  to-day  as  ever  before, 
and  especially  in  view  of  the  approaching  Presidential 
election,  the  closeness  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  and  the 
absolute  importance  of  choosing  a  Republican  Senator 
at  this  session,  I  desire  to  withdraw  my  name  as  your 
nominee  for  Senator,  and  leave  you  free  to  select 
another. 

"  Profoundly  grateful  to  you,  and  through  you,  to  the 
Republicans  of  the  State,  for  the  honors  and  opportuni 
ties  for  service  I  have  already  enjoyed,  and  particularly 


DEFEAT   FOR   RE-ELECTION  473 

thanking  my  friends  for  their  generous  support  in  this 
protracted  struggle,  I  am,  with  great  respect,  your 
obedient  servant." 

Rollins's  withdrawal,  however,  afforded  no  immediate 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  The  anti-caucus  Republicans 
could  no  more  agree  upon  a  candidate  than  they  would 
assent  to  Rollins's  election.  Various  Republicans  were 
brought  forward  by  their  friends  and  received  the 
votes  of  the  caucus  Republicans,  but  one  after  another 
they  disappeared  as  candidates.  The  contest  dragged 
along  until  the  third  month  of  the  session  and  the 
forty-third  vote  before  a  Senator  was  elected.  Briggs 
and  Stevens  in  the  meantime  had  dropped  out.  Ap 
prehension  that  Marston  might  finally  secure  enough 
votes  with  Democratic  support  to  elect  him,  and  weari 
ness  of  the  prolonged  voting  finally  led  to  a  concentra 
tion  of  Republican  strength  on  Austin  ~F.  Pike,  of 
Franklin,  who  had  not  received  any  considerable  votes 
until  the  thirty-fifth  ballot. 

The  election  of  Pike  was  generally  satisfactory  to 
the  party.  He  was  a  tried  and  true  Republican,  a 
lawyer  of  the  first  rank,  and  a  man  of  marked  ability. 
He  had  served  one  term  in  Congress  and  been  defeated 
for  reelection.  In  the  early  days  of  the  party  he  had 
been  an  active  worker,  serving  in  two  campaigns  as 
chairman  of  the  State  committee.  Since  his  defeat  for 
Congress  in  1875,  he  had  devoted  himself  to  his  pro 
fession.  Taking  no  part  in  the  Senatorial  struggle, 
he  was  free  from  its  animosities.  When  Rollins  was 
struggling  for  political  preferment,  Pike  had  been  his 


474  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

friend  and  supporter.  His  election  to  the  Senate  was 
as  gratifying  to  Rollins  as  that  of  any  Republican  of 
the  State.  The  anti-caucus  Republicans,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  Marston  contingent,  readily  accepted 
Pike  as  a  compromise  candidate. 

A  number  of  Rollins's  supporters  would  have  pre 
ferred  no  election  of  Senator  by  the  legislature  of  1883, 
thereby  referring  again  the  question  of  his  successor 
to  the  people  at  the  next  election.  These  men  regarded 
Rollins  as  the  candidate  of  the  party,  fairly  -nominated 
in  a  caucus  held  in  accordance  with  its  usages  for 
nearly  a  generation.  They  were  indignant  at  the  bolt 
of  leaders  who  had  been  frequently  honored  by  the 
party,  and  always  as  the  result  of  caucus  action.  They 
desired  the  Republicans  of  the  State  to  pass  upon  the 
action  of  those  who  had  repudiated  its  most  cherished 
custom. 

Rollins,  however,  foresaw  the  danger  in  such  a 
course.  It  would  thrust  into  the  next  State  campaign 
an  issue  which  would  divide  the  organization  in  many 
towns  and  imperil  Republican  ascendency  in  the  State. 
The  Republican  majority  in  the  legislature  might  be 
entirely  wiped  out  by  such  local  divisions,  and  the 
Democrats  carry  the  State.  In  any  event,  the  Republi 
can  majority  in  the  legislature  would  be  reduced  and  a 
still  smaller  number  of  bolters  be  able  to  control  the 
election  of  a  Senator.  Whether  viewed  from  the  stand 
point  of  party  interest  or  his  own  future,  Rollins  re 
garded  his  withdrawal  from  the  contest  as  the  only 
practical  solution  of  the  difficulty.  His  advice,  there- 


DEFEAT  FOR  RE  -  ELECTION        475 

fore,  to  those  who  regretted  his  withdrawal  was  to  unite 
upon  some  loyal  Republican  and  thereby  elect  a  Sen 
ator. 

The  sharp  antagonisms  which  had  arisen  out  of  this 
Senatorial  election,  antagonisms  that  at  one  time 
threatened  to  wreck  the  party,  were  overshadowed  by 
new  issues  before  another  election.  Happily  for  the 
Republican  party  in  New  Hampshire,  the  elections 
were  now  biennial,  and  more  than  a  year  would  elapse 
before  the  party  would  be  called  upon  to  act  in  its 
organized  capacity.  The  feeling  engendered  by  the 
struggle  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  in  1882  was 
allayed  by  the  nomination  of  Moody  Currier  in  1884, 
while  Blair  was  reflected  to  the  Senate  without  formid 
able  opposition. 


CHAPTEE    XXVI. 


LAST    YEARS 


THE  winter  of  1883-4  Mr.  Rollins  passed  in  Wash 
ington,  having  the  same  rooms  at  the  hotel  he  had  occu 
pied  while  a  Senator.  During  his  Congressional  and 
Senatorial  career  he  had  had  little  opportunity  to  par 
ticipate  in  the  social  life  of  the  capital.  Thoroughly 
enjoying  society,  he  could  now  gratify  his  tastes  in  this 
direction.  He  entertained  liberally,  and  freely  ac 
cepted  the  many  invitations  that  came  to  him.  The 
season  was  one  of  unalloyed  pleasure  to  both  Mrs.  Rol 
lins  and  himself. 

He  still  had  calls  made  upon  him  by  friends  in  New 
Hampshire  for  assistance  in  measures  pending  before 
Congress  and  the  departments,  to  which  he  cheerfully 
responded  as  of  old.  A  Presidential  campaign  was 
approaching,  and  this  engaged  his  interest  and  atten 
tion.  Regarding  President  Arthur  as  one  of  the  best 
executives  who  had  occupied  the  White  House,  and 
believing  that  the  Republican  party  was  indebted  to 
him  for  a  reunion  of  its  factional  elements,  Rollins 
entered  enthusiastically  into  the  canvass  for  Arthur's 
nomination  for  President.  He  wrote  his  friends  in 
New  Hampshire  urging  their  support,  and,  when  spring 

476 


ROLLINS'S   LAST   YEARS  477 

opened,  lie  returned  home  to  assist  in  securing  a  dele 
gation  from  the  State  in  Arthur's  favor.  He  became 
a  candidate  for  delegate  at  large  and  was  elected.  His 
associates  in  the  delegation  were  Charles  H.  Sawyer, 
of  Dover,  George  H.  Stowell,  of  Claremont,  Joseph  B. 
Clark  and  Charles  D.  McDuffee,  of  Manchester,  War 
ren  Brown,  of  Hampton  Falls,  Frank  D.  Currier,  of 
Canaan,  and  Henry  B.  Atherton,  of  Nashua,  all  his 
personal  friends. 

Sawyer  was  a  broad-minded  and  public-spirited  cit 
izen  of  winning  personality.  Generous  and  unassuming, 
his  interest  in  politics  was  without  desire  for  political 
preferment.  His  election  as  governor  of  the  State, 
which  followed  two  years  later,  was  a  testimonial  of 
the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens.  Brown,  Stowell, 
and  Clark  were  long-time  and  intimate  political  asso 
ciates  of  Rollins,  lieutenants  upon  whom  he  had  relied 
in  many  campaigns.  All  these  had  been  elected  to 
positions  of  importance  and  trust.  Atherton  was  a 
lawyer  who  had  been  active  in  politics  at  an  earlier 
period,  while  McDuffee  was  a  manufacturer  whose  rec 
ognition  was  particularly  appropriate.  Currier,  as 
hitherto  stated,  was  at  this  time  secretary  of  the  Repub 
lican  State  committee.  Rollins  was  chosen  chairman 
of  the  delegation,  and  later  elected  a  member  of  the 
national  committee.  These  were  the  last  political  posi 
tions  he  ever  held. 

The  defeat  of  Arthur  and  the  nomination  of  Blaine 
were  disappointing  to  Rollins,  for  he  believed  Arthur 
to  be  the  stronger  candidate.  Although  doubting  the 


478  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

wisdom  of  Elaine's  nomination,  he  engaged  energet 
ically  in  the  campaign,  making  a  large  number  of 
speeches,  and,  as  a  member  of  the  national  committee, 
giving  much  attention  to  the  work  of  that  committee. 
His  activity  gave  public  assurance  that  his  defeat  for 
Senator  was  not  to  interfere  with  his  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  party  and  the  principles  with  which  he 
had  been  identified  for  nearly  thirty  years.  The  man 
ner  of  his  defeat,  however,  grieved  him.  He  had  at 
all  times  and  on  all  occasions  respected  the  integrity 
of  the  Republican  organization.  When  at  its  caucuses 
the  party  had  preferred  another  to  him,  he  had  accepted 
in  good  spirit  their  decrees.  Three  times  he  had  been 
defeated  in  his  canvass  for  Senator  before  he  was 
elected,  and  each  time  found  him  urging  the  party  to 
renewed  activity,  and  working  writh  unabated  zeal  for 
its  success.  It  was,  therefore,  not  unnatural  that  he 
should  dwell  upon  the  methods  pursued  to  prevent  his 
reelection,  and  that  in  private  conversation  with 
friends  he  should  give  vent  to  his  feelings.  Yet,  when 
the  peril  of  the  party  was  mentioned,  he  laid  aside  all 
thoughts  of  himself  in  his  interest  to  have  the  party 
succeed. 

Rolling's  enmities  in  politics  were  few  and  short 
lived.  With  Marston  he  appears  to  have  kept  up  a 
social  intimacy  until  death  separated  them.  Even 
after  Marston  had  bolted  the  Senatorial  caucus,  each 
was  invited  by  the  other  to  visit  him.  Whatever 
thoughts  those  visits  awakened,  they  did  not  interfere 
with  the  hospitality  of  either.  With  Stevens  and 


ROLLINS'S   LAST    YEARS  479 

Briggs  his  relations  were  wholly  political,  but  other 
party  associates  who  worked  against  his  reelection  were 
frequently  among  his  callers  and  enjoyed  his  social 
entertainments. 

After  the  campaign  of  1884,  Kollins  gradually  re 
tired  from  politics.  He  continued  on  the  national 
committee  until  the  next  Presidential  election,  and  his 
name  appeared  on  the  State  committee  for  one  more 
campaign.  Business  interests  soon  absorbed  his  time. 
December  25,  1879,  the  banking-house  of  Minot  and 
Company,  of  Concord,  was  incorporated  as  a  national 
bank,  and  named  the  Mechanicks  National  Bank.  Rol 
lins  was  chosen  a  director.  Associated  with  him  in  the 
management  of  this  bank  were  two  men  who  were 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  city  and  the  State, 
Josiah  Minot  and  Benjamin  A.  Kimball.  Minot  was 
the  founder  of  the  bank.  He  was  an  eminent  lawyer 
and  an  able  financier.  At  one  time  he  was  a  law  part 
ner  of  Franklin  Pierce.  Upon  the  election  of  the 
latter  to  the  Presidency,  Minot  was  appointed  to  the 
bench  of  the  State  courts.  Resigning  from  this  posi 
tion  after  a  few  years'  service,  he  returned  to  the  prac 
tice  of  his  profession,  also  engaging  in  railroad  and 
banking  business.  In  politics  a  Democrat,  Minot  was 
for  a  long  time  a  guiding  spirit  in  Democratic  coun 
cils.  He  was  several  times  pitted  against  Rollins  in 
the  management  of  political  campaigns  in  New  Hamp 
shire.  In  whatever  enlisted  his  attention  he  was  a 
dominant  force  among  his  associates,  although  of  a 
modest  and  retiring  nature. 


480  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

Benjamin  A.  Kimball,  brother  of  John  Kimball,  was 
associated  with  Rollins  in  both  banking  and  railroad 
matters  during  the  latter  years  of  Rollins's  life.  With 
no  ambition  for  political  honors,  Kimball  nevertheless 
became  a  prominent  factor  in  the  politics  of  the  State. 
An  ardent  Republican,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
management  of  the  party,  wielding  a  large  influence. 
A  long-time  resident  of  Concord,  the  city  has  been  his 
pride,  and  its  welfare  his  concern.  He  has  contributed 
materially  to  its  development  and  growth,  and  in  all 
that  pertains  to  civic  betterment  he  has  been  a  leader. 

'In  addition  to  his  connection  with  the  national  bank, 
in  the  affairs  of  which  he  took  a  more  active  part  after 
his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  Rollins,  in  1884, 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  son  Frank  in  the  bond 
business.  Out  of  this  partnership  grew  the  incor 
porated  banking-house  of  E.  H.  Rollins  &  Sons,  with 
offices  at  Concord,  and  later  at  Boston.  In  this  estab 
lishment  all  three  of  his  sons  were  at  one  time  inter 
ested. 

Railroad  matters  were  now  becoming  more  acute  in 
their  relation  to  the  politics  of  the  State.  The  control 
of  the  Concord  Railroad,  the  link  connecting  the  north 
ern  and  southern  railroads  of  the  State  at  Concord 
and  Nashua,  and  in  a  position  to  exact  tribute  of  all, 
had  been  for  years  a  bone  of  contention  among  the 
managers  of  these  several  railroads.  The  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad  had  absorbed  the  Lowell  Railroad  on 
the  south  and  was  endeavoring  to  lease  the  railroads 
to  the  north  of  Concord.  If  successful  in  controlling 


ROLLINS'S  LAST   YEAES  481 

these  northern  roads,  the  absorption  of  the  Concord 
Eailroad  by  the  Boston  and  Maine  was  only  a  question 
of  time.  To  create  a  New  Hampshire  system  of  rail 
roads,  owned  and  controlled  in  the  State,  was  the 
desire  of  Benjamin  A.  Kimball,  John  H.  Pearson,  and 
others  interested  in  the  Concord  Eoad.  Kimball  en 
listed  Rollins  in  this  enterprise  and  with  others  they 
secured  control  of  the  Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal 
Railroad,  one  of  the  roads  running  north  from  Con 
cord.  Rollins  was  elected  a  director  and  president  of 
this  road  in  1886,  positions  he  held  until  his  death  in 
1889.  Controlling  the  Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal 
Railroad,  they  purposed  to  unite  it  with  the  Concord 
Railroad,  hoping  ultimately  to  secure  connections  with 
Boston.  The  consolidation  with  the  Boston,  Concord 
and  Montreal  Railroad  did  not  take  place  until 
after  Rollins's  death,  however,  although  authorized 
by  the  legislature  at  its  June  session  in  1889.  The 
consolidated  railroad  was  to  be  called  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Railroad,  but,  objections  being  raised  by  some  of 
the  stockholders  of  the  Concord  Railroad,  the  name 
was  changed  to  the  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroad. 
In  the  legal  and  political  struggles  incident  to  the  rail 
road  warfare  of  the  State  from  1886  to  the  time  of  his 
death  Rollins  was  conspicuously  active.  He  was  stren 
uously  opposed  to  the  absorption  of  the  Concord  Rail 
road  by  the  Boston  and  Maine,  and  he  entered  the 
contest  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  this  road  with  his 
old-time  vigor. 

Amid  all  this  business  activity  Rollins  found  time 


482  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.    ROLLINS 

for  matters  of  social  and  local  interest.  He  became 
a  charter  member  of  Capital  Grange,  at  Concord,  and 
gave  considerable  attention  to  the  work  of  the  Patrons 
of  Husbandry.  The  organization  of  Shakespeare  clubs 
at  Concord  about  this  time  secured  his  hearty  coopera 
tion.  As  a  member  of  the  Warwick  Club,  he  was  a 
constant  attendant  upon  its  meetings.  Shakespeare 
had  been  a  favorite  study  of  his  hours  of  relaxation 
all  through  life.  The  winters  he  spent  at  Concord  sub 
sequent  to  1883  were  pleasant  to  him.  After  his  first 
election  to  Congress  in  1861,  his  public  service  and  his 
connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  had  kept 
him  away  from  his  home  city  a  large  part  of  the  time. 
Friends  and  neighbors  who  had  been  associated  with 
him  in  the  early  years  of  his  life  at  Concord  seldom 
saw  him.  He  had  unintentionally  grown  apart  from 
them.  A  renewal  of  the  old  ties  was  to  him  a  con 
stant  pleasure.  His  spirits  brightened  and  he  found 
satisfaction  in  the  quieter  life  he  was  leading.  In 
summer  at  the  farm  at  Rollinsford,  in  winter  at  Con 
cord,  he  had  equal  enjoyment.  His  children,  now 
grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  engrossed  a  large 
share  of  his  thoughts,  and  he  took  just  pride  in  their 
success. 

The  end,  however,  was  nearer  than  any  had  reason  to 
suspect.  His  sixty-four  years  had  nearly  all  of  them 
been  years  of  intense  application,  a  continual  drain 
upon  his  vitality.  In  1888  he  was  prostrated  by  a 
shock  of  paralysis  while  in  Boston  on  business.  He 
recovered  from  this  after  a  long  illness,  but  another 


ROLLINS'S   LAST   YEARS  483 

followed  a  day  or  two  after  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroad,  in  May,  1889. 
He  again  rallied,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel, 
he  was  taken  to  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  where  he  appeared 
to  be  regaining  health  and  strength.  A  third  attack 
<?ame  soon  after,  and  from  this  he  did  not  rally.  He 
passed  away  July  31,  1889,  aged  sixty-four  years,  four 
months,  and  twenty-eight  days.  His  funeral  occurred 
two  days  later  at  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  of  Con 
cord. 

Prominent  men,  representatives  of  the  State  and 
national  governments,  and  of  the  railroad  and  banking 
interests  gave  evidence  by  their  presence  of  the  high 
appreciation  of  Mr.  Rollins's  public  service.  The 
funeral  services  were  conducted  by  the  Masonic  frater 
nity.  He  was  laid  at  rest  in  Blossom  Hill  Cemetery 
at  the  capital  of  the  State,  which  had  been  so  long  his 
home. 

The  day  of  his  funeral  the  following  tribute  to  his 
memory  appeared  in  the  Concord  Monitor: 


SERVANT 

"  Mr.  Rollins  came  upon  the  stage  of  political  action 
at  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,  and  for  a  genera 
tion  he  gave  to  its  cause  fealty  undoubted,  and  service 
unsurpassed.  He  had  an  unfaltering  faith  in  its  prin 
ciples,  and  he  never  hesitated  in  the  support  he  gave 
to  them.  !N"o  personal  disappointment  ever  detracted 


484  LIFE   OF  EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

from  his  fidelity  and  no  defeat  ever  weakened  his  be 
lief  that  the  Republican  party  was  best  fitted  to  govern 
the  country.  He  had  a  prominent  part  in  the  creation 
of  the  Republican  organization  of  the  State,  the  most 
thoroughly  equipped  political  organization  of  any  State 
in  the  Union,  as  its  unprecedented  line  of  victories 
abundantly  prove. 

"  As  chairman  of  the  State  committee  Mr.  Rollins 
became  its  central  figure.  He  had  a  mind  that  readily 
grasped  all  the  details  of  party  management,  and  his 
incisive  methods  always  forced  the  enemy  upon  the 
defensive.  He  brought  the  organization  to  that  degree 
of  perfection  where  the  State  committee  could  predict 
its  success  and  find  in  the  election  returns  a  verification 
of  its  prophecies.  His  repeated  triumphs  as  the  leader 
of  political  campaigns  inspired  unbounded  confidence 
in  his  generalship,  and,  after  one  year  of  absence  dur 
ing  which  the  party  lost  the  State,  his  return  to  the 
chairmanship  of  the  State  committee  gave  an  eclat  to 
the  canvass  that  made  victory  certain. 

"  Rollins  saw  the  weak  points  in  his  opponents' 
campaign  and  quickly  concentrated  his  attacking  col 
umns  at  those  points.  He  knew  the  political  history  of 
the  towns  of  the  State  by  heart.  He  had  a  good  knowl 
edge  of  men.  He  placed  every  man  where  he  would 
be  most  effective.  Nothing  was  left  to  chance.  The 
press,  the  stump  speakers,  the  town  canvassers,  every 
one,  received  inspiration  from  headquarters.  The 
times  were  propitious  for  party  discipline,  and  the 
organization  worked  with  the  directness  and  force  of 


ROLLINS'S   LAST   YEARS  485 

a  well-drilled  army.  Rollins's  name  became  a  house 
hold  word  in  politics.  It  was  associated  with  every 
move  upon  the  political  checker-board. 

"  When  the  battle  was  won,  Rollins  was  equally  effi 
cient  in  harmonizing  rival  claims  for  recognition.  Be 
ginning  with  the  Republican  party  he  desired  to  per 
petuate  it.  Proud  of  its  stand  for  human  rights,  he 
was  a  radical  in  all  its  advance  movements.  The  his 
tory  of  the  Republican  party  of  New  Hampshire  is 
a  biography  of  the  personal  work  of  Edward  H.  Rol 
lins.  The  party  never  had  a  more  intrepid  leader  or 
more  devoted  follower  than  he. 

"  Few  men  have  filled  so  large  a  space  in  the  public 
affairs  of  New  Hampshire  as  Senator  Rollins.  Six 
years  a  Congressman,  six  years  a  United  States  Sen 
ator,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  leader  of  a  great 
political  party,  his  whole  life  was  one  of  publicity, 
No  man  ever  gave  more  untiring  service  to  the  State 
and  nation.  Because  of  his  conception  of  public  duty, 
his  ceaseless  industry,  his  constant  regard  for  the 
wishes  of  his  constituents,  it  can  be  truly  said  of  him 
that  he  earned  the  honors  that  were  conferred  upon 
him.  His  official  career  was  without  spot  or  blemish. 
The  constant  target  for  partisan  attacks,  no  one  ever 
questioned  his  personal  or  political  integrity. 

"  He  loved  his  native  State  and  anything  that  con 
cerned  the  welfare  of  New  Hampshire  always  found 
in  him  a  zealous  and  effective  advocate.  In  the  ex 
citement  of  a  political  campaign  he  was  a  party  man. 
As  a  public  servant,  all  New  Hampshire  men  were  his 


486  LIFE    OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

constituents.  The  cause  of  every  citizen  of  the  State 
was  made  his  own.  Whether  it  was  a  bill  for  relief 
before  Congress,  a  call  for  a  hearing  before  a  depart 
ment,  or  a  measure  that  would  aid  New  Hampshire's 
prosperity,  he  pushed  it  with  a  persistency  that  seldom 
failed  of  success. 

"  Now  that  the  sad  announcement  of  his  death 
reaches  all  parts  of  the  State,  many  an  humble  in 
dividual  will  recall,  to  the  credit  and  honor  of  Mr. 
Rollins,  some  incident  of  the  many  in  his  life  when  the 
red  tape  of  official  routine  was  rudely  brushed  aside 
that  some  needy  or  suffering  applicant  might  secure 
his  rights.  Mr.  Rollins  took  pride  in  saying  to  the 
people  of  New  Hampshire  that,  when  he  failed  in 
being  of  service  to  his  constituents,  he  hoped  they 
would  demand  his  resignation.  He  felt  all  this  saying 
implied,  and  he  never  left  Washington  at  the  close  of 
a  session  until  after  every  request  from  New  Hamp 
shire  had  received  consideration. 

"  In  this  city  is  a  handsome  public  building.  It  is 
the  post-office  of  the  city,  and  is  for  the  use  of  every 
citizen.  Senator  Rollins  secured  the  passage  of  the 
bill  through  Congress  authorizing  its  construction. 
When  the  Senate  committees  of  the  forty-seventh  Con 
gress,  the  last  of  which  Rollins  was  a  member,  were 
made  up,  he  asked  for  the  chairmanship  of  the  com 
mittee  on  public  buildings  and  grounds.  Other  more 
important  and  influential  chairmanships  were  at  his 
disposal,  but  he  declined  them  all  that  he  might  secure 
for  the  capital  city  of  his  State  a  public  building  at 


ROLLINS'S   LAST   YEARS  487 

once  ornamental  and  useful.  No  subject  ever  inter 
ested  him  more,  and,  when  the  bill  received  the  signa 
ture  of  President  Arthur,  it  was  a  proud  moment  of 
Senator  Rollins's  life.  He  lived  to  witness  the  comple 
tion  of  the  structure  and  see  it  put  to  public  use.  In 
that  it  was  due  to  his  untiring  exertions,  it  was  his 
tribute  to  the  city  that  had  so  generously  honored  him. 
If  he  has  no  other  monument  erected  to  his  memory, 
this  building  speaks  more  eloquently  than  granite  shaft 
or  statue  of  the  public  service  of  one  of  New  Hamp 
shire's  most  useful  citizens." 


CHAPTEE   XXVII. 

ROLLINS'S    FAMILY    LIFE    AND    PERSONAL    TRAITS 

NOTWITHSTANDING  his  intensely  active  life  in  poli 
tics  and  business,  Mr.  Rollins  was  a  thoroughly  domes 
tic  man.  The  old  home  at  Concord  and  the  farm  at 
Rollinsford  were  ever  in  his  thoughts.  He  turned  to 
either  place  with  a  feeling  of  relief  from  all  anxiety. 
Family  life  seemed  to  soothe  and  charm  him.  What 
ever  shadows  clouded  his  public  career,  they  never  fell 
upon  his  household.  Here  all  must  be  sunshine  and 
laughter.  The  home-life  of  his  children  is  the  pleas- 
antest  of  their  recollections.  The  boisterousness  of 
youth  never  disturbed  him.  He  used  to  say  to  his 
children :  "  Have  all  the  company  you  want.  Invite 
your  friends  to  the  house  at  any  time.  I  would  rather 
that  your  friends  visited  you  than  that  you  visited 
them."  The  result  was  that  the  Rollins  home  at  Con 
cord  and  the  Rollins  house  at  Rollinsford  frequently 
resembled  a  school  at  recess  with  its  babel  of  voices  and 
romping  plays.  Whatever  the  turmoil,  Mr.  Rollins  sat 
with  entire  composure  reading  or  writing,  apparently 
oblivious  of  the  noise  and  confusion.  An  incident 
related  by  his  son,  Montgomery  Rollins,  illustrates  this 
characteristic. 

488 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND   PERSONAL   TRAITS       489 

"  I  remember  one  day  when  the  house  was  full  of 
my  boy  and  girl  friends.  Father  was  reading  in  the 
living-room.  We  were  playing  very  noisy  games,  dash 
ing  in  and  out  of  the  room  he  was  occupying.  All  of 
a  sudden  we  took  up  some  new  game  which  kept  us 
absolutely  quiet.  -In  a  few  minutes  father  laid  down 
his  paper,  looked  around  in  a  surprised  way,  and  said, 
(  What's  the  matter  ? '  The  absence  of  commotion  and 
noise  was  the  only  thing  which  arrested  his  attention." 

In  the  old  house  at  Concord,  the  sleeping-room  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rollins  was  situated  with  entrances  to 
both  the  front  and  back  halls.  An  old  custom  in  that 
city  ushered  in  May  Day  with  the  blowing  of  horns. 
One  May  morning,  about  three  o'clock,  Frank  W.  Rol 
lins,  the  second  son,  then  a  lad  of  ten  years,  led  a 
troop  of  his  boy  friends  quietly  into  the  house  and  up 
the  front  stairs  to  the  door  of  his  parents'  sleeping 
apartment.  At  a  given  signal  the  door  was  swung  open 
and  some  twenty  boys  blowing  horns  with  the  full 
strength  of  their  lungs  marched  through  the  room,  by 
the  foot  of  the  bed,  out  into  the  back  hall,  and  down 
the  back  stairs.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rollins  sat  up  in  bed, 
rubbed  their  eyes,  and  simply  smiled  on  the  passing 
procession. 

Yet  Mr.  Rollins  could  be  a  stern  though  indulgent 
parent.  His  punishments  of  his  children  were  few, 
but  they  were  never  forgotten.  As  a  rule,  a  look  or  a 
quickly  spoken  word  of  command  were  enough  to  cor 
rect  any  misdemeanor.  Those  who  remember  him  will 
readily  recall  the  penetration  of  his  keen  black  eyes. 


490  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

They  seemed  to  read  the  motive  of  the  offender  brought 
up  for  discipline.  When  angry,  his  eyes  would  flash 
fire  and  his  voice  ring  out  like  a  clarion  note.  Many 
a  politician  has  quailed  before  his  glance  without  a 
word  being  spoken.  Yet  to  the  young  his  countenance 
invariably  lighted  up  with  a  smile  of  encouragement^ 
Making  companions  of  his  children,  Mr.  Rollins's  ad 
monitions  and  advice  were  rather  those  of  an  elder 
brother  than  a  parent.  He  fully  appreciated  the  natu 
ral  ways  of  boys  and  girls,  and  he  had  a  humane  way 
of  dealing  with  their  failings.  Speaking  again  of  his 
father,  Montgomery  Rollins  says :  "It  was  not  his 
custom  to  scold  us  at  length,  but  in  some  quiet  way  to 
enforce  upon  our  minds  our  waywardness  and  teach  us 
the  necessity  of  obedience.  The  fact  that  he  did  not 
harp  upon  our  shortcomings  made  him  stand  a  great 
deal  higher  in  our  estimation,  and  his  system  of  cor 
rection  was,  therefore,  more  effective." 

While  providing  generously  for  his  children  in  all 
that  contributed  to  their  education,  comfort,  and  enjoy 
ment,  he  did  not  believe  in  indulging  them  in  the  lux 
ury  of  too  much  spending  money.  He  feared  that  such 
indulgence  would  spoil  them.  From  necessity,  he  had, 
in  youth,  passed  through  the  rigid  school  of  economy, 
and  he  sought  to  instil  precepts  of  thrift  and  self-reli 
ance  in  the  minds  of  his  children.  He  encouraged 
travel  and  all  other  means  of  broadening  their  lives, 
but  enforced  habits  of  industry  and  independence  of 
parental  support.  After  he  had  tested  them  and  found 
them  competent,  they  ever  afterward  had  his  confidence 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL   TRAITS        491 

and  assistance.  He  gave  to  his  sons  the  best  education 
obtainable,  but  they  were  made  to  understand  that  they 
must  depend  upon  themselves  the  day  their  education 
was  finished.  This  last  injunction  was  literally  en 
forced,  for,  from  the  day  that  they  left  school,  he  cut 
off  their  supplies  of  money,  and  each  was  obliged  to 
shift  for  himself. 

The  Rollins  home  was  conducted  upon  broad  lines. 
Supplies  for  the  household  were  purchased  in  large 
quantities  and  at  wholesale.  In  the  autumn  the  larder 
was  stocked  much  in  the  same  manner  as  summer 
hotels,  for  the  season.  There  was  a  big  room  on  the 
north  side  of  the  house  at  Concord  which  was  never 
heated.  Around  this  room  were  hung  late  in  the  fall 
quarters  of  beef,  halves  of  hogs,  hams,  etc.,  while  stored 
within  it  were  barrels  of  apples,  potatoes,  sugar,  and 
flour,  with  bags  of  coffee  and  chests  of  tea.  Thus  there 
was  never  any  lack  of  supplies  when  unexpected  visitors 
arrived.  It  was  a  rare  occurrence  for  the  family  to  sit 
down  to  a  meal  without  the  presence  of  some  expected 
or  unexpected  guest.  Sunday  was  a  day  when  com 
pany  was  most  numerous. 

The  old  house  at  Concord,  in  which  Mrs.  Rollins's 
family,  the  Wests,  had  resided  for  generations,  was  a 
curiously  constructed  building.  It  had  been  added  to 
from  time  to  time  when  more  room  was  needed,  until 
it  branched  out  in  all  directions  without  plan  or  sym 
metry.  One  might  lose  himself  in  the  dark  halls  which 
led  to  outlying  rooms.  It  was  a  famous  house  for 
children's  sports,  and  many  a  game  of  hide  and  seek 


492  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

was  played  within  it.  One  room,  the  library,  lives  in 
the  memory  of  those  who  were  accustomed  to  call  or 
visit  there.  It  was  a  long,  narrow  room  across  one  end 
of  the  house,  heated  by  an  air-tight  stove.  Shelves 
lined  its  four  sides  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and  these  were 
filled  to  overflowing  with  books  and  pamphlets.  This 
room,  when  the  door  was  closed,  was  entirely  separated 
from  the  main  part  of  the  house.  It  not  only  served 
as  a  retreat  for  those  who  were  studious  and  desired 
quiet,  but  was  also  a  great  resort  for  the  children  on 
stormy  days.  Here  many  a  successful  political  cam 
paign  was  planned  and  its  details  carefully  worked  out. 
There  is  hardly  a  politician  of  note  of  the  old  guard 
of  JSTew  Hampshire  who  has  not  been  there. 

The  dining-room  of  this  house  was  large  and  ample. 
While  a  low-studded  building,  the  generous  size  of  all 
the  rooms  gave  to  this  dwelling  the  appearance  of  ex 
tensive  proportions.  It  was  simply  but  adequately 
furnished,  although  every  piece  of  furniture  bore  the 
marks  of  constant  usage.  ISTot  a  nook  or  a  corner  of  the 
house  but  served  some  useful  purpose.  It  was  not  ah 
uncommon  happening  to  have  cots  put  up  in  the  par 
lors,  for  even  the  accommodations  of  the  sleeping  apart 
ments  were  at  times  overtaxed.  Mr.  Rollins's  family 
was  ever  a  large  one,  for,  in  addition  to  his  own  chil 
dren,  he  always  had  with  him  some  of  his  nephews  or 
nieces,  who  made  his  house  their  home,  and  were  edu 
cated  and  cared  for  by  him. 

At  the  farm  in  Rollinsford,  it  was  not  unusual  for 
twenty-five  people  to  gather  at  the  dinner-table,  with 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL   TRAITS        493 

the  addition  of  from  seven  to  ten  in  the  servants'  din 
ing-room.  Mr.  Rollins  sat  at  the  head  of  the  board  and 
carved  for  this  large  family  with  the  greatest  satis 
faction.  The  house  had  much  the  appearance  of  the 
famous  Southern  homes  in  the  patriarchal  days  before 
the  war.  When  Mr.  Rollins,  after  their  destruction  by 
fire,  rebuilt  the  farm  buildings,  he  planned  them  with 
the  expectation  of  having  all  his  children  and  their 
families  with  him  during  the  summer  season.  He 
could  never  understand  why  it  was  not  perfectly  simple 
for  every  one  of  the  children  and  grandchildren  to  come 
to  the  farm  the  first  of  June  and  remain  until  October. 
Indeed,  if  they  did  not  come  with  "  bag  and  baggage  " 
for  a  long  visit,  he  felt  somewhat  hurt  and  neglected. 

Such  a  family  could  not  have  been  reared,  and  such 
hospitality  could  not  have  been  dispensed,  without  the 
presence  of  a  broad-minded  wife  and  mother.  Most 
helpful  to  her  husband  was  Mrs.  Rollins.  Of  cheer 
ful  disposition,  devoted  to  her  family,  fertile  in  re 
sources,  charming  as  a  hostess,  she  endeared  the  Rol 
lins  home  to  all  who  came  within  its  portals.  It  made 
little  difference  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rollins  whether  the 
company  were  old  or  young,  their  own  friends  and 
acquaintances  or  those  of  the  children,  a  cordial  wel 
come  awaited  every  comer. 

There  was  no  dearer  spot  to  Senator  Rollins  than 
his  farm  at  Rollinsford.  It  was  his  pride  and  joy,  his 
only  source  of  recreation.  Whenever  his  public  duties 
or  his  business  interests  permitted,  he  sought  its  seclu 
sion.  It  was  on  this  place  that  the  freest  and  happiest 


494  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

hours  of  his  life  were  spent.  It  had  been  the  home  of 
his  childhood.  Many  of  the  neighbors  were  friends 
of  his  youth.  All  the  associations  of  his  early  years 
clustered  around  this  locality.  There  all  cares  were 
laid  aside.  After  the  strain  of  a  long  session  of  Con 
gress,  nothing  did  him  so  much  good  as  his  activities 
about  this  place.  The  house  which  his  father  had 
built  he  remodelled  and  improved.  In  April,  1881, 
all  the  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire.  When  the 
news  came  to  him  of  the  conflagration,  and  he  was 
assured  that  the  family  was  safe,  his  only  inquiry  was 
regarding  a  stately  old  elm  which  stood  in  front  of  the 
house.  When  informed  that  this  was  uninjured,  he 
said,  "  Then  I  shall  rebuild  on  the  old  spot ;  "  and 
rebuild  he  did,  but  on  a  larger  scale. 

Senator  Rollins  was  a  very  ardent  and  genuine 
farmer.  He  loved  the  soil  and  had  a  very  strong  at 
tachment  for  the  place  of  his  birth.  Uniting  his  prac 
tical  knowledge  of  agriculture,  gleaned  when  a  boy, 
with  the  information  to  be  obtained  from  agricultural 
publications,  he  sought  to  bring  this  farm  of  his  an 
cestors  to  the  highest  state  of  cultivation.  In  this  he 
succeeded,  for  in  productiveness  his  farm  excelled  any 
in  that  section  of  the  State.  With  William  A.  Russell, 
of  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  he  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
introduction  of  the  Holstein  breed  of  cattle  into  New 
England,  importing  them  from  Holland.  At  the  time 
of  his  death,  he  had  a  handsome  herd  of  Holsteins,  of 
which  he  was  very  proud.  They  were  all  registered, 
and  were  a  source  of  attraction  to  the  farmers  of  the 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL   TRAITS        495 

State,  for  they  were  then  comparatively  new  to  this 
country. 

The  haying  season  Mr.  Eollins  particularly  enjoyed. 
There  was  something  about  it  that  strongly  appealed  to 
him.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  harvest,  and  he  took 
especial  pride  in  cutting  and  curing  the  grass  without 
injury  from  rainfall.  He  always  drove  the  mowing- 
machine  when  at  home.  His  dress,  when  at  work  in 
the  field,  consisted  of  high  top  boots  with  his  trousers 
tucked  into  them,  a  flannel  shirt,  an  ordinary  coat, 
and  a  broad  sombrero  hat.  On  such  occasions  he 
hardly  looked  the  well-dressed  business  man,  in  which 
character  he  generally  appeared,  but  he  thoroughly 
enjoyed  himself.  Amusing  stories  are  told  about  the 
mistakes  of  strangers  coming  to  the  farm  to  see  him 
on  business  or  politics,  who  took  him  for  the  superin 
tendent  rather  than  the  owner  of  the  farm,  a  mistake 
which  he  was  inclined  to  encourage,  generally  leading 
the  caller  to  commit  himself  before  he  revealed  his  own 
identity.  Mr.  Kollins  was  a  man  of  great  quickness 
of  motion,  wiry  and  strong,  and  he  could  easily  tire  out 
men  of  larger  physique  who  were  accustomed  to  out 
door  labor.  As  a  boy,  "  he  held  the  belt,"  as  the  phrase 
used  to  run,  both  as  a  mower  and  as  cradler  of  rye  and 
barley  for  the  town  of  Rollinsford.  Sparing  not  him 
self,  he  insisted  that  everybody  under  his  eye  should 
do  a  full  day's  work.  His  sons  did  not  always  take  as 
much  interest  in  the  labor  of  the  hay-field  as  he  did, 
but,  so  long  as  the  haying  lasted,  they  were  obliged  to 
work.  After  the  haying  wras  over,  they  had  to  pick 


496  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

the  stones  out  of  the  stubble  in  those  parts  of  the  fields 
which  had  been  recently  seeded  down.  Then  they  were 
free  for  the  rest  of  the  summer. 

Mr.  Rollins  was  very  fond  of  horses  and  of  driving. 
He  always  kept  a  pair  of  small  Morgan  horses,  and 
they  were  invariably  bought  for  him  by  one  man, 
William  Putnam,  of  Concord,  familiarly  known  as 
"  Old  Put,"  a  man  of  unerring  judgment  of  horse  flesh. 
When  the  family  was  in  Concord,  the  horses  were 
brought  to  the  door  directly  after  dinner  Sunday  after 
noons,  and,  driving  himself,  Mr.  Rollins  took  as  many 
of  the  family  as  could  be  stowed  into  a  two-seated  car 
riage  for  a  ride  over  the  "  dark  plains,"  around  Pena- 
cook  or  over  the  Dunbarton  Road,  To  drive  across  from 
Concord  to  the  farm  at  Rollinsford,  a  distance  of  forty 
miles,  was  a  very  common  occurrence.  This  trip  was 
made  by  an  early  start  in  the  morning,  breakfast  being 
eaten  on  the  way.  The  old  tavern  at  Northwood 
was  generally  reached  by  noon,  and  here  they  dined. 

Whenever  Mr.  Rollins  was  at  the  farm,  it  became 
the  rendezvous  for  all  the  politicians  and  prominent 
men  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State.  Among 
the  men  frequently  seen  there  were:  Chief  Justice 
Charles  Doe,  a  neighbor  at  Rollinsford;  Alfred  F. 
Howard,  Elbridge  Pierce,  Aaron  Young,  and  J.  Horace 
Kent,  of  Portsmouth ;  Edward  Ashton  and  Daniel  Rol 
lins,  of  Somersworth ;  Daniel  Hall,  Andrew  H.  Young, 
J.  F.  Seavey,  Reverend  George  A.  Spaulding,  Charles 
H.  Sawyer,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Alonzo  H.  Quint,  of 
Dover;  Warren  Brown,  of  Hampton  Falls;  Jacob 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL    TRAITS        497 

Young,  of  Barrington;  Charles  S.  Whitehouse,  of 
Rochester;  Charles  W.  Talpey  and  Alonzo  Nute,  of 
Farmington,  and  Oilman  Marston,  of  Eeter.  Any 
pleasant  afternoon  in  the  summer  was  a  time  when 
some  of  these  men  were  sure  to  be  gathered  at  the  Rol 
lins  homestead.  It  was  their  custom  to  repair  to  the 
pasture  where  was  located  a  boiling  spring.  From  this 
spring  the  water  bubbled  out  of  the  ground  cold  and 
clear  as  crystal.  The  great  pines  towered  overhead, 
and,  seated  around  this  spring  on  the  soft  pine  needles, 
many  a  good  story  was  told,  and  many  a  political  cam 
paign  discussed. 

During  his  early  manhood  Mr.  Rollins  was  very 
active  in  masonry,  and  for  many  years  devoted  much 
time  to  its  work.  He  passed  through  all  the  chairs  in 
the  Blue  Lodge,  and  was  master  of  Blazing  Star  Lodge, 
of  Concord.  Also  Knight  Templar,  he  became  com 
mander  of  Mount  Horeb  Commandery  at  the  capital. 
In  after  life  he  frequently  referred  to  the  benefit  he 
derived  from  his  work  in  masonic  bodies,  placing 
special  stress  upon  the  training  it  gave  him  for  public 
life.  Accustomed  to  presiding  in  a  masonic  lodge,  he 
surprised  the  members  of  the  New  Hampshire  legisla 
ture  by  the  familiarity  he  showed  with  parliamentary 
proceedings  and  the  ease  with  which  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  Speaker  when  first  elected  to  that  position. 
After  his  death  a  paper  was  found  in  the  archives  of 
the  commandery  requesting  that  he  be  buried  with 
masonic  honors. 

At  one  time  Mr.  Rollins  took  a  special  interest  in 


498  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

military  affairs.  He  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Horse  Guards,  a  famous  New  Hampshire  mili 
tary  organization.  Elected  first  as  a  lieutenant,  he 
subsequently  became  captain  of  one  of  the  companies 
of  this  battalion.  The  membership  of  this  organiza 
tion  embraced  many  prominent  men  of  the  State.  Its 
uniform  was  that  of  the  French  Hussars,  and,  when 
mounted,  the  command  made  a  most  striking  appear 
ance.  Each  man  supplied  his  own  uniform  and  equip 
ment,  and  all  expenses  were  borne  out  of  the  battalion 
treasury.  The  Horse  Guards  gave  an  annual  ball, 
which  was  a  social  feature  of  the  capital.  They  per 
formed  escort  duty  at  the  inauguration  of  the  governor, 
and  sometimes  appeared  on  other  important  occasions. 
They  offered  their  services  to  the  government  at  the 
very  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  but  the  offer  was 
declined,  it  was  said,  on  the  ground  that  the  war  would 
be  so  brief  there  would  be  no  use  for  cavalry.  A 
number  of  its  officers  and  men,  however,  enlisted,  and 
went  to  the  front.  Mr.  Rollins  would  doubtless  have 
been  among  the  number  had  he  not  just  been  elected 
to  Congress  and  continued  there  throughout  the  war. 
While  not  obliged  to  do  so,  he  furnished  at  his  own 
expense  two  recruits  who  served  until  the  close  of  hos 
tilities. 

In  keeping  with  the  memory  of  Mr.  Rollins,  men 
tion  should  be  made  of  Julius  Cone,  an  eccentric 
genius,  well  known  to  politicians  of  the  State,  and  par 
ticularly  well  remembered  by  the  older  inhabitants 
of  Concord.  As  a  young  man,  Cone  entered  Mr.  Rol- 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL   TRAITS        499 

lins's  drug  store  as  a  temporary  substitute  for  some 
absent  clerk.  This  temporary  employment  became  per 
manent,  and,  until  his  death,  Cone  was  as  much  a 
fixture  of  that  store  as  its  furnishings.  He  slept  in  it, 
or  in  a  room  directly  overhead,  and  never  went  any 
where  except  for  long  walks  in  the  woods.  He  was  a 
well-read  man  and  quite  a  naturalist.  A  deep  student 
of  human  nature,  Cone  had  a  bitter  hatred  of  all 
pretence  and  fraud.  His  disposition  was  kindly, 
and  his  sympathies  broad.  He  had  a  handsome  face, 
and  was  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  Mr.  Rollins's 
confidence  in  him  was  unbounded,  and  he  never  re 
turned  to  Concord  without  calling  upon  Julius  Cone. 

Another  character  identified  with  Mr.  Rollins's  life 
was  his  farm  superintendent,  William  H.  Prescott. 
While  a  reliable  man,  Prescott's  methods  were  not 
always  satisfactory  to  Mr.  Eollins.  The  latter  had  a 
quick  and  somewhat  fiery  temper,  and  when  aroused 
was  apt  to  make  his  wishes  known  in  a  very  peremp 
tory  way.  He  was  liable  to  be  especially  exasperated 
when  suffering  from  violent  headaches,  to  which  he  was 
subject  whenever  his  nervous  system  was  taxed  by  the 
strenuous  life  he  led.  Then  he  would  pace  the  floor 
for  hours,  his  head  bound  with  a  wet  towel,  in  excruci 
ating  pain.  At  such  times  and  others  he  would  be  irri 
tated  by  some  failure  of  his  superintendent  to  meet  his 
expectations,  or  by  some  fancied  shortcoming,  and  dis 
charge  him.  He  would  say: 

"  Prescott,  I  am  done  with  you.  Come  to  the  house 
Saturday  night  and  get  your  pay." 


500  LIFE   OF  EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

Prescott  would  reply,  "  All  right,  sir."  When  Satur 
day  night  came,  Mr.  Rollins  would  make  out  his  time, 
pay  him,  and  take  his  receipt  in  full.  Then  he  would 
say,  "  Now  we  are  square,  and  I  am  through  with  you." 
Prescott  would  reply,  "  Yes,  sir  ?  "  and  leave  the  room. 
Early  Monday  morning  he  would  he  at  work  again. 
Mr.  Rollins  would  see  him,  but  make  no  comment. 
Prescott  would  go  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened  until 
the  next  disagreement,  when  the  formality  of  dismissal 
would  he  repeated.  This  happened  so  many  times  that 
it  became  a  standing  joke  in  the  family.  Prescott, 
who  is  now  employed  by  Mr.  Rollins's  sons,  recounts 
with  great  gusto  the  number  of  times  he  was  dis 
charged  but  did  not  go.  Sometimes  after  a  discharge 
the  boys  would  ask  Prescott  if  he  intended  to  go.  He 
would  reply,  "  Why,  bless  yer,  no.  Mr.  Rollins  don't 
mean  it.  He  couldn't  run  the  farm  without  me." 

When  Mr.  Rollins  was  Senator,  Governor  Natt 
Head,  of  New  Hampshire,  came  to  Washington  to 
secure  the  appointment  of  a  friend  to  the  position  of 
keeper  of  the  Whalesback  lighthouse  at  Portsmouth, 
then  vacant.  Admiral  Dewey  was  at  that  time  at  the 
head  of  the  lighthouse  board,  with  the  rank  of  captain. 
Both  Senator  Rollins  and  Governor  Head  knew  Dewey 
intimately,  as  the  latter^s  first  wife  was  the  daughter 
of  Governor  Goodwin,  of  Portsmouth,  and  Dewey 
spent  much  time  in  that  city.  Calling  at  Captain 
Dewey's  office,  Rollins  said :  "  Dewey,  there  is  a 
vacancy,  as  you  know,  at  the  Whalesback  lighthouse, 
and  we  want  Governor  Head's  friend  appointed 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL    TRAITS        501 

keeper."  Captain  Dewey  appeared  embarrassed,  hesi 
tated  a  little,  and  then  said,  "  I  am  very  sorry,  Mr. 
Rollins,  but  we  have  changed  our  custom.  We  don't 
appoint  any  more.  We  promote."  Eollins  glared  at 
Dewey  for  a  few  seconds,  his  eyes  snapping  fire,  and 
then  said,  in  his  most  sarcastic  tone,  "  Oh,  you  promote, 
do  you,  Dewey  ?  That's  the  new  thing.  You  promote. 
We'll  see  about  that.  Come  on,  Head."  Grabbing  his 
hat,  he  rushed  out  of  the  office,  and  over  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  who  is  the  president  of  the  lighthouse 
board.  In  less  than  ten  minutes,  he  was  back  to 
Dewey's  office  out  of  breath,  but  with  a  triumphant 
smile  lighting  up  his  countenance.  Throwing  down 
on  Dewey's  desk  an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  to  appoint  Governor  Head's  friend,  he  ex 
claimed,  "  There,  Dewey,  we  won't  have  any  promotion 
to-day." 

It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  say  that  this  incident  oc 
curred  before  the  passage  of  the  civil  service  law.  In 
common  with  other  leaders  of  that  time,  Rollins  believed 
that  those  who  helped  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  party, 
and  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  its  principles 
were  entitled  to  the  rewards  of  office  when  the  vic 
tory  was  won.  This  was  also  the  belief  of  practically 
all  his  constituents  in  New  Hampshire,  Democrats  as 
well  as  Republicans.  In  carrying  out  their  wishes,  Mr. 
Rollins  was  just  as  persistent  whether  the  request  that 
came  to  him  was  for  an  office  or  for  the  performance 
of  some  legislative  duty  in  Congress.  Although  he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  political  spirit  of  his  time, 


502  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

he  had  no  patience  with  incompetent  employees, 
whether  in  private  or  public  life.  Inefficient  govern 
ment  clerks  failed  to  enlist  his  interest  to  prevent  their 
discharge.  He  made  it  a  rule  never  to  recommend  any 
but  competent  men  for  office.  So  long  as  they  main 
tained  their  efficiency,  he  stood  by  them,  but,  if  they 
proved  unworthy,  he  made  no  effort  to  secure  their 
retention. 

About  nine  years  of  Mr.  Rollins's  active  life  were 
spent  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad.  His  service  with  this  road  began  right 
after  the  close  of  his  third  term  in  Congress.  It  was 
at  a  time  when  the  building  of  the  road  was  in  progress 
and  the  corporation  was  having  a  hard  struggle  to 
maintain  itself.  The  treasurer's  position  was  an  oner 
ous  one,  for  the  road  met  with  many  reverses.  Execu 
tive  ability  and  financial  skill  were  necessary  to  keep 
it  from  bankruptcy.  Mr.  Rollins' s  duties  brought  him 
in  contact  with  some  of  the  ablest  financiers  and  rail 
road  men  of  the  country.  They  all  bore  testimony  to 
his  shrewdness  and  sagacity  in  meeting  emergencies 
as  they  arose.  He  was  present  at  the  laying  of  the  last 
rail  and  the  driving  of  the  golden  spike  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  the  completion  of  which  was  to  con 
nect  by  rail  the  Atlantic  Coast  with  the  Pacific.  In 
memory  of  the  event,  Mr.  Rollins  wore  on  his  watch 
chain  a  small  spike  made  from  the  gold  one  used  on 
this  occasion. 

While  not  a  communicant  of  any  church,  Mr.  Rol 
lins  was  a  regular  attendant  at  service  on  Sunday. 


FAMILY   LIFE   AND    PERSONAL   TRAITS        503 

When  in  Concord,  out  of  deference  to  his  wife,  he 
went  to  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  and  in  its  faith 
his  children  were  reared.  At  Kollinsford,  he  attended 
the  church  of  his  vouth,  the  First  Congregational,  of 
Dover.  One  of  his  most  intimate  friends  was  its 
pastor,  the  Reverend  Dr.  George  A.  Spaulding.  ^ot 
strictly  speaking  a  sectarian,  he  was  nevertheless  an 
earnest  supporter  and  constant  contributor  to  church 
work.  In  his  observance  of  the  Sabbath  as  well  as  in 
his  daily  conduct  there  was  to  be  seen  the  strong  impress 
of  his  mother's  teaching  and  example.  Of  the  strictest 
integrity,  his  word  was  never  questioned  in  business  or 
politics.  He  forgot  no  promise  and  disappointed  no 
friend.  In  public  life,  he  was  scrupulously  honest.  He 
never  sought  by  indirection  to  obtain  that  which  could 
not  be  secured  by  open  dealing.  Throughout  his  long 
career,  there  was  no  reflection  ever  made  upon  his  char 
acter.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  considering  the 
many  political  contests  in  which  he  was  engaged. 
Even  when  his  defeat  for  reelection  to  the  Senate  was 
sought  by  fellow  Republicans,  envious  of  his  success, 
there  was  not  even  a  whisper  that  he  had  been  other 
than  a  diligent,  efficient,  and  upright  public  servant. 
Opportunities  he  had,  both  in  financial  life  and  as 
treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to  acquire 
wealth  if  guided  only  by  the  technical  restraints  of 
law,  but  he  carefully  avoided  them  all.  He  died  leav 
ing  only  a  moderate  fortune  for  his  day,  accumulated 
by  industry,  thrift,  and  careful  investment. 


CHAPTEE    XXVIII. 

SUMMARY 

To  estimate  justly  the  life  of  Edward  H.  Rollins 
and  the  part  he  played  in  an  important  epoch  of  our 
history,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  account  the  period 
of  his  activity  and  the  influence  of  New  Hampshire  on 
the  politics  of  the  country.  Rollins  stood  out  pre 
eminent  as  a  party  organizer  and  manager  of  political 
campaigns  at  a- time  when  the  success  or  defeat  of  the 
Republican  party  meant  the  destruction  or  perpetua 
tion  of  slavery,  the  preservation  or  dissolution  of  the 
Union,  and,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  reaping  of 
its  fruits  or  the  failure  of  the  harvest.  He  was  at 
the  head  of  the  Republican  organization  in  a  doubtful 
State,  whose  influence  in  national  affairs  was  all  out 
of  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  State.  The  New  Hamp 
shire  election  was  the  first  in  the  year,  and,  being  a 
debatable  State,  the  election  was  regarded  as  the  key 
note  of  subsequent  elections  of  the  year.  Both  polit 
ical  parties  sought  to  strike  this  note  for  the  influence  it 
would  have  upon  other  States.  The  State  had  been 
wrested  from  Democratic  control  during  President 
Pierce' s  administration  by  the  Know-Nothing  coalition 
under  Rollins's  leadership.  Being  the  home  of  the 

504 


SUMMARY  505 

President,  the  loss  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  1855  brought  the  State  into  national 
prominence,  and  it  retained  that  prominence  until 
1878,  when  its  elections  were  changed  from  March 
to  November.  The  Know-Nothing  coalition  was  suc 
ceeded  in  power  by  the  Republican  party  in  1856. 
The  enrolment  of  the  State  in  the  Republican  column 
that  year  was  significant  of  the  political  transition 
going  on  throughout  the  country.  Again  in  1860,  the 
March  election  foreshadowed  the  national  triumph  of 
the  Republican  party  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  Through 
out  the  Civil  War,  when  the  vital  question  was  the  up 
holding  of  President  Lincoln's  administration,  New 
Hampshire  Republicans  never  wavered.  Other  and 
larger  Republican  States  were  turned  from  their  party 
allegiance,  electing  Democratic  governors  and  legisla,- 
tures,  thus  discouraging  enlistments,  but  the  vote  of 
New  Hampshire  was  always  for  the  vigorous  prosecu 
tion  of  the  war.  Later,  during  Grant's  two  adminis 
trations,  when  Republican  supremacy  in  the  nation 
was  frequently  threatened,  New  Hampshire  Republi 
cans  stood  true  to  their  party  and  its  principles.  Often 
an  October  and  November  tidal  wave  of  Democratic 
success  was  turned  back  at  the  following  March  election 
in  New  Hampshire.  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Indiana 
were  pivotal  States  because  of  their  size.  New  Hamp 
shire  was  pivotal  because  of  the  date  of  its  election. 

To  Rollins  was  committed  year  after  year  the  charge 
of  keeping  New  Hampshire  in  line  for  the  Republican 
party.  He  built  up  and  perfected  a  party  organization 


506  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

never  equalled  in  any  State  of  the  Union  in  any  period 
of  our  history.  Party  feeling  was  intense.  The  issues 
of  the  war  and  the  reconstruction  period  which  fol 
lowed  overshadowed  all  other  questions.  With  elec 
tions  occurring  annually,  there  was  little  cessation  of 
politics  throughout  the  year.  The  margin  by  which 
the  Republican  party  held  the  State  was  narrow.  Any 
small  defection  imperilled  the  party  ascendency.  There 
was  no  place  for  experiments  in  politics.  Party  lines 
were  tightly  drawn.  There  was  no  room  for  third 
parties,  and,  when  they  sprang  up,  their  existence  was 
short-lived.  The  dissatisfied  or  independent  voters 
were  forced  into  one  camp  or  the  other.  Men  were 
either  Republicans  or  Democrats.  The  Mugwump  did 
not  flourish  on  New  Hampshire  soil.  Both  Republi 
cans  and  Democrats  were  taught  that  their  own  party 
was  radically  right  and  the  other  party  radically 
wrong.  The  open  ballot  prevailed,  and  there  were  few 
voters  of  the  State  who  were  not  proud  to  display  their 
party  allegiance.  As  exacting  as  that  of  an  army  in 
the  field  was  the  discipline  in  political  campaigns. 
Men  might  not  like  personally  their  leaders,  but  they 
obeyed  their  orders.  Individual  interests  and  feelings 
had  to  be  subordinated  to  the  success  of  the  party  in 
the  face  of  the  enemy. 

Yet  there  were  personal  differences  to  reconcile, 
party  mistakes  to  excuse,  conflicting  ambitions  to  ad 
just,  and  disappointments  to  placate,  that  every  Repub 
lican  might  be  rallied  to  the  polls  to  support  the  ticket. 
This  is  always  more  difficult  to  do  in  a  small  State 


SUMMARY  507 

than  in  a  large  one,  for  the  reason  that,  in  a  small 
State,  there  is  closer  touch  of  individuals,  and  better 
knowledge  of  details.  Men  like  John  P.  Hale,  Amos 
Tuck,  Daniel  Clark,  and  George  G.  Fogg  were  in  the 
forefront  giving  force  to  the  principles  of  the  Repub 
lican  party,  meeting  the  arguments  of  its  opponents, 
shaping  its  policies,  and  appealing  in  the  forum  and 
the  press  to  the  voters.  At  a  later  date  other  strong 
and  able  men  battled  in  the  legislature,  on  the  stump, 
and  in  the  newspapers  for  the  maintenance  of  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  Republican  party.  But  the  work  of  hold 
ing  the  party  intact  for  political  campaigns  devolved 
upon  Rollins.  He  organized  the  local  clubs,  inspired 
the  local  leaders,  secured  the  canvasses  of  the  voters, 
marshalled  the  forces,  and  directed  the  contests  in  the 
strenuous  political  battles  that  were  fought  year  after 
year.  Detracting  nothing  from  the  services  of  other 
distinguished  Republicans  of  the  State,  the  situation 
of  the  Republican  party  in  New  Hampshire  called  for 
just  such  a  leader  as  Rollins  to  direct  and  manage  its 
political  campaigns.  The  party  could  not  have  con 
tinued  to  hold  power  for  so  long  a  period  in  so  many 
adverse  circumstances  without  just  such  a  general  of 
its  forces.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  in  several 
crises,  Rollins's  genius  as  a  party  manager  saved  the 
State  to  the  Republican  party. 

It  was  the  confidence  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party 
that  kept  Rollins  so  long  at  the  head  of  the  Republican 
State  committee.  There  were  times  when  his  rivals 
for  political  honors  would  have  gladly  set  him  aside. 


508  LIFE   OF   EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

His  aspirations  were  known.  The  chairmanship  of 
the  State  committee,  and  his  repeated  successes  in 
that  position,  gave  him  prestige  and  a  strong  following, 
but  there  was  a  feeling  among  those  who  sought  prefer 
ment  that  Rollins  had  an  undue  advantage  in  being  at 
the  head  of  the  Republican  organization.  Yet  no  one 
was  ready  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  position, 
and  no  disinterested  individual  appeared  to  take  com 
mand.  The  place  was  not  without  its  disadvantages. 
It  was  quite  as  easy  to  incur  hostility  in  the  discharge 
of  its  duties  as  to  make  friendships.  The  emergencies 
of  the  campaigns  called  for  quick  decisions,  and  Rol 
lins' s  manner  sometimes  gave  offence.  He  had  a  direct 
ness  of  speech  not  always  pleasing.  Clearly  seeing 
himself  what  a  crisis  demanded,  he  was  impatient 
when  others  did  not  quickly  grasp  the  situation.  His 
sharp  and  sometimes  severe  speech  provoked  personal 
hostility,  but  his  outbursts  of  indignation  had  in  them 
no  resentment.  After  forcibly  expressing  himself,  he 
dismissed  from  his  mind  the  incident,  and  was  sur 
prised  that  others  remembered  it.  He  held  sway  at 
a  time  when  almost  military  discipline  was  necessary 
to  win  political  battles.  Yet  he  was  sagacious  in 
his  dealings  with  men,  and  there  was  method  in  the 
discipline  he  enforced.  To  the  party  at  large  in  the 
State  he  was  the  successful  leader.  They  saw  little 
of  the  frictions  and  annoyances  at  headquarters.  They 
were  infused  with  his  courage,  and  were  sanguine  of 
victory  when  he  planned  the  campaign.  They  also 
shared  his  pride  in  keeping  !N"ew  Hampshire  constantly 


SUMMARY  509 

in  support  of  Kepublican  policies.  His  appeals  in 
voked  their  enthusiastic  support,  and  they  held  him  in 
affectionate  regard. 

Rollins's  public  service  was  the  outgrowth  of  his 
identification  with  the  politics  of  New  Hampshire.  He 
was  ambitious.  In  the  furtherance  of  his  ambition 
he  fully  qualified  himself  for  public  position.  The 
glamour  of  official  life  had  little  charm  for  him,  but  he 
enjoyed  the  struggle  to  attain  position,  and  the  labor 
and  responsibility  it  entailed.  He  was  a  man  of  action, 
and  the  severe  tension  of  political  struggles  appealed 
to  him.  In  addition  to  this,  he  was  a  man  of  strong 
convictions,  and  the  issues  of  his  day  enlisted  his 
heartiest  sympathies.  He  believed  that  the  rewards 
of  political  contests  should  be  bestowed  upon  those 
who  were  instrumental  in  winning  those  contests. 
This  view  was  shared  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people 
of  the  State.  Neither  party  in  the  State  had  use  for 
an  individual  who  was  not  ready  at  all  times  to  put 
on  the  political  harness  and  work  for  the  success  of 
the  cause  with  which  he  was  identified.  Some  excelled 
as  speakers,  others  as  writers,  and  still  others  as  or 
ganizers.  The  labors  of  all  were  essential  to  success. 
Therefore,  all  classes  were  entitled  to  recognition.  The 
people  of  New  Hampshire  agreed  with  the  late  Thomas 
B.  Eeed  that  "  statesmen  are  politicians  who  are  dead." 
Every  male  citizen  of  New  Hampshire  was  a  politician 
in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  in  that  he  had  definite 
political  principles,  was  ready  to  defend  them,  knew 
whom  he  desired  to  represent  him  in  public  position, 


510  LIFE   OF   EDWARD    H.    ROLLINS 

and  was  not  indifferent  to  holding  office  himself.  There 
were  many  aspirants  for  political  honors,  and  but  few 
positions.  These  honors  did  not  come  without  a  con 
test  and  personal  effort.  In  this  struggle  for  party 
favor,  Rollins  had  his  part,  tasting;  the  bitterness  of 
defeat  as  well  as  the  pleasures  of  victory. 

His  service  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  and 
Speaker  of  the  House,  a  member  of  Congress  and  United 
States  Senator,  covered  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  or 
about  half  the  time  that  he  was  active  in  politics. 
The  twelve  years  he  spent  in  both  branches  of  Con 
gress  were  years  of  unremitting  toil.  In  his  legislative 
career  he  never  attempted  to  appear  other  than  he  was, 
a  diligent,  painstaking  legislator,  loyal  to  his  State, 
and  true  to  his  convictions.  He  mastered  the  details 
of  all  subjects  coming  within  the  province  of  his 
assignments,  and,  if  he  had  occasion  to  express  his 
views,  his  speeches  showed  an  intelligent  grasp  of  the 
question  under  consideration.  He  made  very  few  set 
speeches  during  his  Congressional  career,  and  none  for 
home  consumption.  For  all  demagogical  displays  he 
had  no  feeling  but  contempt.  It  would  have  been  to 
his  credit  if  he  had  participated  more  frequently  in 
debate,  for  he  had  that  happy  faculty  of  clear  and 
direct  statement  which  enlists  the  attention  and  appeals 
to  the  understanding.  Rollins,  however,  comprehended 
as  fully  as  any  man  in  legislative  life  the  value  of 
silence  when  a  measure  is  successfully  running  the 
gauntlet  of  its  several  parliamentary  stages.  Many 
a  worthy  measure  has  been  imperilled  or  defeated  by 


SUMMARY  511 

the  ardor  of  its  friends  to  go  on  record  in  its  favor. 
Rollins' s  whole  training  in  life  had  been  to  subordinate 
the  individual  to  the  triumph  of  the  cause.  His  legis 
lative  service,  therefore,  while  not  conspicuous,  was 
eminently  creditable  and  successful.  None  of  his  asso 
ciates  in  the  Senate  showed  greater  skill  in  piloting 
measures  through  that  body. 

ISfiew  Hampshire  interests  especially  appealed  to 
Rollins.  While  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  and 
the  Senate,  requests  from  home  for  assistance  came 
directly  to  him  in  preference  to  his  colleagues  from  the 
State.  This  preference  oftentimes  became  so  marked 
that  Rollins  was  compelled  to  ask  constituents  to 
take  the  initiative  through  some  colleague  more  directly 
interested,  that  his  relations  with  his  associates  from 
New  Hampshire  might  remain  cordial.  His  attention 
to  the  wants  of  his  constituents  would  have  made  him  a 
busy  man  if  he  had  done  nothing  else  while  in  Wash 
ington.  No  call  from  New  Hampshire  was  too 
trivial  to  be  ignored.  The  reputation  he  acquired  for 
bringing  about  results  constantly  increased  these  de 
mands.  Some  were  deserving  attention,  while  others 
were  not,  but  Rollins  made  no  distinction  if  the 
requests  were  reasonable,  and  there  was  even  a  remote 
possibility  of  their  being  granted.  Such  work  as  this 
entailed  contributed  little  or  nothing  to  his  public 
reputation,  nor  was  it  always  justly  appreciated  by 
the  beneficiaries.  Oftentimes  a  request  involving  days 
or  weeks  of  persistenf  effort  to  attain  it  was  indiffer 
ently  received.  Yet  the  appreciation  and  gratitude  of 


512  LIFE   OF  EDWARD   H.   ROLLINS 

some  humble  claimant  seemed  to  compensate  Rollins 
for  the  ingratitude  of  others. 

Rollins  had  earned  and  was  entitled  to  a  reelection  to 
the  Senate.  Had  his  service  been  at  a  later  period,  he 
undoubtedly  would  have  secured  it.  He  suffered  de 
feat  partly  because  of  the  belief  of  the  Republican 
party  of  New  Hampshire  in  the  principle  of  rotation 
in  office,  a,  principle  which  Rollins  himself  had  long 
advocated.  The  Republicans  of  New  Hampshire  at 
that  time  had  more  concern  in  holding  the  State  than 
in  the  influence  her  representatives  exerted  in  Wash 
ington.  If  members  of  Congress  and  Senators  were 
given  long  periods  of  service,  the  door  of  opportunity 
seemed  to  be  closed  to  the  active  and  ambitious  Repub 
licans  of  the  State.  Valuable  as  Rollins's  service  was 
to  the  party  and  to  the  State,  there  were  others  who 
believed  that  they  could  do  equally  well  or  better  in 
the  Senate.  The  younger  generation  coming  upon  the 
stage  of  action  had  more  intimate  association  with 
other  leaders.  Rollins  made  the  mistake  so  frequent 
with  men  long  in  leadership  of  not  recognizing  the 
passing  influence  of  older  men.  Loyal  to  his  friends, 
he  stood  by  them  long  after  they  ceased  to  be  of  service 
to  him  or  to  the  party,  and  not  infrequently  when  they 
were  unworthy  of  his  confidence.  The  revolt  against 
caucus  action  which  had  been  effective  in  changing 
Senatorial  successions  in  other  States  made  its  appear 
ance  in  New  Hampshire  at  a  time  when  Rollins  was 
seeking  a  reelection  to  the  Senate.  The  bolt  of  the 
Republican  Senatorial  caucus  of  1881  in  the  State  on 


SUMMARY  513 

the  ground  that  the  question  was  constitutional  rather 
than  political  made  it  easier  to  bolt  in  1883,  and  really 
paved  the  way  for  setting  aside  party  custom  that  year. 

When  the  blow  came,  Rollins  was  not  prepared  for 
it.  He  had  abided  caucus  action  with  good  grace  when 
it  brought  disappointment  to  him.  That  the  first  bolt 
of  a  Republican  Senatorial  caucus  should  be  visited 
upon  him  after  his  long  service  for  the  party  savored 
to  his  mind  of  base  ingratitude.  For  a  time  he  was 
not  without  hope  that  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the 
party  would  triumph  and  his  election  follow.  Yet 
when  it  was  apparent  that  he  could  not  be  reflected,  he 
withdrew  from  the  contest  that  some  other  Republican 
might  be  chosen.  Intense  as  was  his  disappointment, 
his  loyalty  to  the  party  would  not  permit  him  to  favor 
a  course  which  would  prevent  a  choice  of  Senator  by 
the  legislature,  leaving  New  Hampshire  partially  un 
represented,  and  the  Republicans  without  a  vote  in  the 
Senate  which  they  especially  needed  at  that  time. 

Had  Rollins  been  in  his  prime,  it  is  not  impossible 
that  he  would  have  controlled  the  situation  and  ulti 
mately  triumphed.  The  action  of  the  bolters  met  with 
no  popular  approval.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  party 
in  the  State  believed  Rollins  entitled  to  an  election 
and  to  have  been  fairly  renominated.  His  withdrawal 
left  the  party  in  a  quandary.  The  leaders  of  the  bolt 
preferred  Rollins  quite  as  much  as  they  preferred  one 
another.  A  cheerful  acceptance  of  the  situation  on  his 
part  would  have  softened  much  of  the  antagonism  to 
him  then  existing.  Age  and  the  tremendous  strain  he 


514  LIFE   OF  EDWAED   H.   EOLLINS 

had  been  under  for  years  robbed  Kollins  of  his  usual 
buoyancy  and  confidence.  The  sympathy  of  friends 
intensified  his  feelings,  and  his  defeat  was  for  a  time 
uppermost  in  his  mind.  Gradually  his  thoughts  were 
diverted  to  other  matters,  and  he  found  pleasure  in 
both  active  business  pursuits  and  the  domestic  life  of 
the  fireside.  In  1885,  when  Blair's  term  in  the  Senate 
expired,  and  again  in  1887,  when  a  vacancy  occurred 
in  the  Senate  by  the  death  of  Senator  Pike,  Rollins' s 
friends  urged  his  return  to  the  Senate.  He,  however, 
made  no  effort  to  secure  votes  or  put  himself  forward 
as  a  candidate,  and  the  result  of  these  elections  brought 
him  no  disappointment. 

To  the  old  guard  now  living  the  thought  of  Rollins 
brings  to  memory  interesting  recollections  of  the  in 
tense  political  contests  waged  in  New  Hampshire  under 
his  leadership.  Reviewing  his  career,  they  are  free  to 
give  praise  to  his  ability,  his  integrity,  and  his  fidelity 
to  the  party,  the  State,  and  the  nation.  Few  there  are 
who  would  not  now  say  that  his  defeat  for  reelection 
to  the  Senate  was  a  mistake.  The  causes  contributing 
to  it  are  well-nigh  forgotten,  but  the  ardent  devotion 
of  Rollins  to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
his  untiring  labors  to  promote  the  success  of  those 
principles,  and  his  valuable  service  as  a  public  servant 
are  still  held  in  appreciative  remembrance  by  those 
whom  he  so  often  led  to  victory. 

Measured  with  the  men  of  his  time,  he  stands  out 
conspicuous  and  successful.  Those  of  his  contempo 
raries  who  were  rivals  for  political  honor  approached 


SUMMAEY  515 

a  public  career  from  other  environments  than  his,  and 
they  became  prominent  in  the  development  of  other 
talents.  Yet  in  what  Eollins  made  of  his  opportuni 
ties,  in  the  part  he  took  in  public  affairs  and  in  his 
service  to  the  people,  he  was  in  his  sphere  of  action 
their  peer.  In  the  era  of  his  activity,  his  work  was  as 
essential  to  the  triumph  of  the  great  cause  for  which 
all  battled  as  the  labors  of  those  whose  deeds  are  more 
conspicuously  of  record. 

In  his  efforts  to  make  his  life  a  success,  Mr.  Rollins 
wronged  no  man,  dealt  justly  by  all,  and  assisted  others 
to  rise  above  their  environments.  He  was  intensely 
patriotic,  and  his  public  spirit  was  pronounced.  As 
a  citizen  he  was  loyal  to  the  community.  To  his  neigh 
bors  he  was  considerate,  kind,  and  helpful.  In  the 
family  circle  he  was  dearly  beloved.  Whatever  the 
obligation  resting  upon  him,  he  performed  well  his 
part,  turning  aside  from  no  responsibility  and  avoid 
ing  no  duty. 


THE 


APPENDIX 

DESCENDANTS   OF  EDWAED  H.  ROLLINS 

EDWARD  WARREN  ROLLINS,  eldest  son,  born  Novem 
ber  25,  1850.  Twice  married,  first  to  Jessie  Witter, 
of  Denver,  Colorado,  by  whom  lie  had  one  son,  Ashton 
Rollins;  and  second,  to  Clara  Sherwood,  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  by  whom  he  also  had  a  son,  Sherwood  Rollins. 

Helen  Mary  Rollins,  only  daughter,  born  September 
4,  1853,  married  Henry  Robinson,  of  Concord,  New 
Hampshire.  Their  children  are,  Ethel  Rollins,1  Mar- 
jorie  Sawyer,  Rupert  West,  Ruth  Cora,  Helen  Natalie, 
Rollins,  and  Barbara  Robinson. 

Charles  Montgomery,  second  son,  born  February  27, 
1856;  died  June  25,  1861. 

Frank  West  Rollins,  third  son,  born  February  24, 
1860,  married  Katharine  Wallace  Pecker,  of  Concord, 
New  Hampshire.  They  have  one  son,  Douglas  Rollins. 

Montgomery  Rollins,  fourth  son,  born  August  25, 
1867,  married  Grace  Webster  Seavey,  of  Dover,  New 
Hampshire.  They  have  two  children,  Ellen  West  Rol 
lins  and  Sarah  Webster  Rollins. 

i  Married  William  A.  Foster,  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire.  They 
have  one  child,  Helen  Foster. 

617 


518  APPENDIX 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  AND 
DEMOCRATIC  STATE  COMMITTEES  FROM 
1856  TO  1905 

AN  attempt  has  been  made  to  compile  a  list  of  the 
principal  officers  of  the  Republican  and  Democratic 
State  committees  from  1856  to  the  present  time.  Un 
fortunately,  the  records  of  the  committees  for  the 
greater  part  of  this  period  cannot  be  found,  and  have 
probably  been  destroyed.  The  data  has  been  obtained 
almost  wholly  from  newspapers.  While  these  contain 
full  information  of  the  membership  of  the  committees 
as  a  part  of  the  proceedings  of  State  conventions, 
the  organization  of  the  committees  and  their  election 
of  officers  for  some  reason  was  not  always  reported. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  organization  of  the  Dem 
ocratic  State  committee.  Nearly  all  of  the  chairmen, 
secretaries,  and  treasurers  of  both  committees  for  the 
first  half  of  this  period  are  dead.  Inquiries  of  living 
contemporaries  have  given  some  information  which  it 
was  possible  to  verify,  but,  in  the  main,  there  is  only 
a  vague  tradition  of  the  time  when  these  men  served 
who  played  so  important  a  part  in  the  strenuous  cam 
paigns  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  list  of  officers  of  the  Republican  State  com 
mittee  is  complete,  unless  the  committee  had  a  treas 
urer  in  the  years  1856  and  1857,  of  which  there  is 
no  record.  The  chairman  may  have  acted  as  treasurer 
during  these  two  campaigns,  as  the  Republican  party 


APPENDIX  519 

was  then  in  its  infancy.     The  list  herewith  given  is, 
therefore,  nearly  or  quite  accurate. 

Until  early  in  the  seventies  there  is  no  record  in 
newspapers  at  the  capital  of  the  organization  of  the 
Democratic  State  committee.  About  the  only  informa 
tion  presented  by  these  newspapers  that  bears  upon 
this  subject  is  what  is  contained  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  State  conventions.  This  body  was  almost  in 
variably  called  to  order  by  the  chairman  of  the  State 
committee.  It  is,  therefore,  a  safe  assumption  to  con 
sider  this  individual  as  the  chairman  during  the  pre 
vious  campaign.  Occasionally  a  call  for  the  various 
conventions  is  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary 
of  the  Democratic  State  committee,  but  usually  by  the 
chairman  alone.  No  record  of  the  election  of  a  treas 
urer  of  the  Democratic  State  committee  is  found  prior 
to  1876,  though  it  is  probable  that  John  M.  Hill  held 
this  position  at  a  much  earlier  date.  It  is  likely  that 
Lewis  W.  Clark  was  secretary  for  more  than  one  year, 
and  may  have  held  this  position  in  1859,  when  Joseph 
Robinson  was  chairman.  Owing  to  the  intimacy  of 
John  H.  George,  John  M.  Hill,  and  Lewis  W.  Clark, 
it  is  very  probable  that  one  of  them  was  secretary  when 
George  was  chairman.  In  the  early  years  the  chair 
man  may  have  selected  his  own  secretary  without  the 
formality  of  an  election  by  the  State  committee. 
Francis  B.  Peabody,  chairman  in  1856,  who  is  still 
living,  is  unable  to  recall  after  this  lapse  of  time  who 
served  with  him  as  secretary,  and  he  is  inclined  to 
the  opinion  that  John  H.  George  selected  some  law 


520  APPENDIX 

student  in  his  office  to  act  in  this  capacity  in  the  cam 
paigns  he  conducted.  It  is  regretted  that  the  records 
are  lacking  to  make  this  list  as  complete  as  that  of  the 
Kepublican  State  committee. 


REPUBLICAN      STATE      COMMITTEE 

1856 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Sylvester  Dana,   Concord,  secretary. 

1857 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Sylvester  Dana,   Concord,  secretary. 

1858 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
William  E.  Chandler,  Concord,  secretary. 
Frederick  Smyth,  Manchester,  treasurer. 

1859 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
William  E.  Chandler,  Concord,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 

1860 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 


APPENDIX  521 

1861 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 

1862 

Anthony  Colby,  New  London,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 

1863 

Nehemiah  G.  Ordway,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 

1864 

William  E.  Chandler,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Thomas  L.  Tullock,  Portsmouth,  treasurer. 

1865 

William  E.  Chandler,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1866 

Austin  F.   Pike,   Franklin,   chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 


522  APPENDIX 

1867 

Aiustin  F.   Pike,   Franklin,  chairman. 
Benjamin  Gerrish,   Jr.,   Concord,   secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1868 

Edward  H.  Eollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  Gerrish,  Jr.,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1869 

Edward  H.  Rollins,   Concord,  chairman. 
Wyman  Pattee,  Enfield,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1870 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Charles  H.  Roberts,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1871 

Edward  H.  Rollins,  Concord,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1872    (Spring  Campaign) 
Edward  H.   Rollins,   Concord,   chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Asa  Fowler,  Concord,  treasurer. 


APPENDIX  523 

1872    (Fall   Campaign) 
Orrin  C.  Moore,  Nashua,  chairman. 
Benjamin   F.    Prescott,   Epping,    secretary. 
Asa  Fowler,    Concord,   treasurer. 

1873 

Orrin  C.  Moore,  Nashua.,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Carlos  G.  Pressey,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1874 

Daniel  Hall,  Dover,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
Charles  H.  Eoberts,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1875 

Daniel  Hall,   Dover,   chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,   Epping,   secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1876 

Daniel  Hall,  Dover,  chairman. 
Benjamin  F.  Prescott,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1877 

Elijah  M.  Topliff,  Manchester,  chairman. 
George  E.  Jenks,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 


524  APPENDIX 

1878    (Spring   Campaign) 
Eliijah   M.    Topliff,    Manchester,    chairman. 
George  E.  Jenks,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1878    (Fall  Campaign) 
Henry  H.   Huse,  Manchester,  chairman. 
George  E.  Jenks,   Concord,   secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

18SO 

Henry  II.   Huse,   Manchester,   chairman. 
George  E.  Jenks,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1882 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Frank  D.   Currier,   Canaan,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1884 

Jacob  H.   Gallinger,   Concord,   chairman. 
Frank  D.   Currier,   Canaan,   secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1886 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Frank  D.   Currier,   Canaan,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 


APPENDIX  525 

1888 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Frank  D.   Currier,   Canaan,  secretary. 
John  Kimball,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1890 

Frank  C.  Churchill,  Lebanon,  chairman. 
Stephen  S.  Jewett,  Laconia,  secretary. 
Edgar  H.  Woodman,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1892 

Stephen   S.    Jewett,   Laconia,   chairman. 
William  Tutherly,  Concord,  secretary. 
William   F.    Thayer,    Concord,    treasurer. 

1894 

Stephen   S.    Jewett,   Laconia,   chairman. 
William  Tutherly,   Concord,   secretary. 
William   F.    Thayer,    Concord,    treasurer. 

1896 

John  A.  Spalding,  Nashua,  chairman. 
James  0.  Lyford,  Concord,  secretary. 
William  F.  Thayer,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1898 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Louis  G.   Hoyt,   Kingston,   secretary. 
William  F.    Thayer,    Concord,    treasurer. 


526  APPENDIX 

1900 

'  Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Thomas  F.  Clifford,  Franklin,  secretary. 
William  F.  Thayer,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1902 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Thomas  F.  Clifford,  Franklin,  secretary. 
William  F.  Thayer,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1904 

Jacob  H.  Gallinger,  Concord,  chairman. 
Thomas  F.  Clifford,  Franklin,  secretary. 
William  F.  Thayer,  Concord,  treasurer. 


DEMOCRATIC    STATE    COMMITTEE 

1856    (Spring   Campaign) 
Francis  B.  Peabody,  Concord,  chairman. 

1856    (Fall    Campapign) 
John  H.  George,  Concord,  chairman. 

1857 
John  H.  George,  Concord,  chairman. 

1858 

John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  chairman. 
Lewis   W.    Clark,    Manchester,    secretary. 


APPENDIX  527 


1859 
Joseph  Robinson,   Concord,   chairman. 

1860 

Josiah  Minot,  Concord,  chairman. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  secretary. 

1861 

Josiah  Minot,  Concord,  chairman. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,   secretary. 

1862 

Aaron  P.  Hughes,  Nashua,  chairman. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,  secretary. 

1863 

Josiah  Minot,  Concord,  chairman. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,  secretary. 

1864 

Lewis  W.  Clark,  Manchester,  chairman. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,  secretary. 

1865 

Lewis  W.  Clark,  Manchester,  chairman. 
John  M.   Hill,   Concord,   secretary. 

1866 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  chairman. 


528  APPENDIX 

1807 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  chairman. 

1868 
Anson  S.  Marshall,  Concord,  chairman. 

1869 

Samuel  B.  Page,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Henry  H.  Metcalf,  Concord,  secretary. 

1870 

Samuel  B.   Page,   Haverhill,  chairman. 
Henry  H.  Metcalf,  Concord,  secretary. 

1871 

Lewis  W.  Clark,  Manchester,  chairman. 
William  M.  Thayer,  Portsmouth,  secretary. 

1872 

John  G.  Sinclair,  Littleton,  chairman. 
Henry  H.  Huse,  Manchester,  secretary. 

1873 

George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Charles  B.  Griswold,   Lebanon,   secretary. 

1874 

George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Charles  B.  Griswold,   Lebanon,   secretary. 


APPENDIX  529 

1875 

George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Charles  H.  Smith,  Newmarket,  secretary. 

1876 

Isaac  ~N.  Blodgett,  Franklin,  chairman. 
William   Butterfield,    Concord,    secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1877 

Isaac  N.  Blodgett,  Franklin,  chairman. 
William    Butterfield,    Concord,    secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1878  (Spring  Campaign) 
George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Herbert  F.  Norris,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1878  (Fall  Campaign) 
George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Isaac  N.   Andrews,   Nashua,   secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1880 

George  F.  Putnam,  Haverhill,  chairman. 
Herbert  F.  Norris,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  M.    Hill,    Concord,   treasurer. 


530  APPENDIX 

1882 

Charles  F.  Stone,  Laconia,  chairman. 
Herbert  F.  ISTorris,  Epping,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1884 

Charles  F.  Stone,  Laconia,  chairman. 
Nathaniel  E.  Martin,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,  treasurer. 

1886 

Charles  F.  Stone,  Laconia,  chairman. 
Nathaniel  E.  Martin,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,   Concord,  treasurer. 

1888 

Charles  F.  Stone,  Laconia,  chairman. 
Frank  M.    Rollins,   Laconia,    secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1890 

John  P.   Bartlett,  Manchester,   chairman, 
James  R.   Jackson,  Littleton,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1892 

John  P.   Bartlett,  Manchester,   chairman. 
James  R.   Jackson,  Littleton,  secretary. 
John  M.  Hill,  Concord,  treasurer. 


APPENDIX  531 

1894 

John  T.  Amey,  Lancaster,  chairman. 
Daniel  M.  White,  Peterboro,  secretary. 
Howard  F.  Hill,   Concord,  treasurer. 

1896 

John  T.  Amey,  Lancaster,  chairman. 
Daniel  M.  White,  Peterboro,  secretary. 
Eliphalet   S.   Nutter,    Concord,   treasurer. 

1898 

John  T.  Amey,  Lancaster,  chairman. 
Henry  W.  George,  Barnstead,  secretary. 
John  M.  Mitchell,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1900 

John  T.  Amey,   Lancaster,  chairman. 
Thomas  H.  Madigan,  Jr.,  Concord,  secretary. 
William  J.  Ahern,  Concord,  treasurer. 

1902 

Nathaniel  E.  Martin,  Concord,  chairman. 
Thomas  H.  Madigan,  Jr.,  Concord,  secretary. 
John  P.   Goggin,   Nashua,   treasurer. 

1904 

Thomas  Madigan,  Jr.,  Concord,  chairman. 
John  P.  Bartlett,  Manchester,  secretary. 
Franklin  P.  Xellom,  Winchester,  treasurer. 


ADDENDA 


On  page  41,  there  should  be  added  to  list  of  residents  of 
Ward  4,  who  have  held  State  offices,  Solon  A.  Carter,  State 
Treasurer,  and  Irving  A.  Watson,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board 
of  Health. 

On  page  52,  "  John  J.  Prentiss  of  Keene  "  should  read  "  John 
J.  Prentiss  of  Claremont." 

On  page  182  «  A.  P.  Stackpole  "  should  read  "  P.  A.  Stack- 
pole." 

On  page  373,  "  Edward  K.  Mann  "  should  read  "Edward  F. 
Mann." 

On  page  407,  "  McMillan  of  Michigan  "  should  read  "  McMil 
lan  of  Minnesota." 

On  page  497,  "  Oilman  Marston  of  Eeter  "  should  read  "  Gil 
man  Marston  of  Exeter." 


533 


INDEX 


Abbot,  Josiah  G.,  173. 
Adams,  George  H.,  460. 

James  O.,  253. 

John  Quincy,  208. 

Joseph  B.,  170. 
Ahern,   William   J.,  531. 
Allen,  William  H.  H.,  426. 
Allison,  William  B.,  15,  211. 
Ames,   Oakes,   217. 
Amey,   John   T.,    531. 
Amidon,  Charles  J.,  68,  358,  459. 
Amsden,  Charles  H.,  458. 
Anderson,  George  W.,  211. 

Joseph,  400,  401. 
Andrew,   John  A.,   15,   155. 
Andrews,  E.  W.,  356. 

Isaac   N.,  529. 

Rufus  F.,  168. 
Apgar,  Edgar  K.,  336. 
Arthur,  Chester  A.,  345,  432,  437, 

440,  451,  462,  476,  477,  487. 
Ashley,  James  M.,  121. 
Atherton,  Charles  G.,  88. 

Henry  B.,  477. 
Ayer,  Francis  B.,  216. 
Ayling,  Augustus  D.,  41. 

Babcock,  James  F.,  208. 
Bailey,  Edwin  C.,  173,  322. 

John  H.,  216. 

William  W.,  354. 
Baker,  Henry  M.,  301,  302. 
Balcom,  George  L.,  459. 
Ballantyne,  Adam  S.,  420. 
Ballard,  John,  358. 


William,  43,  50,  59. 
Banks,     Nathaniel     P.,     14,     103, 

105,  369. 
Barker,  Fred  A.,  460. 

Lewis,  168. 
Barnard,   Daniel,   416. 
Barrows,    Lorenzo    D.,    224,    225, 

234,  236. 
Bartlett,  Charles  H.,  458. 

John   P.,  530,  531. 
Barton,  Levi  W.,  68,  93,  357,  364, 

393. 

Batchelder,   Richard  N.,  110,  111. 
Batchellor,   Albert   S.,   373. 
Bates,   Edward,   102.  103. 
Bayard,     Thomas     F.,    404,     405, 

407,   435. 

Bean,  Jacob  C.,  68,  104. 
Beck,  James  B.,  405,  425. 
Bedel,   John,    219,   220,   227,    235, 

236. 

Belford,  James  B.,  237. 
Belknap,  William  W.,  355. 
Bell,   Charles   H.,   303,    305,   318, 

327,    329,    385,    392,    397,    398, 

401,    403,    404,    405,    407,    408, 

409,    415,    416,    417,    422,    425, 

470. 

James,  49,  71. 

John  J.,  459. 

Samuel  D.,  117,  118. 

Samuel  N.,  246,  295,  325,  338. 
Bellows,  Henry  A.,  70. 
Benton,    Jacob,    46,    48,    59,    93, 

104,   149,    198,    218,   360,    364. 


535 


536 


INDEX 


Berry,     Nathaniel     S.f     109,     119, 

130,   132,    144. 
Bickford,  John  C.,  420. 

John  E.,  216. 

Bingham,  George  A.,  16,  78,  417. 
Harry,    16,   183,   203,   227,   321, 
329,  389,  414,  417,  420,  428, 
429,  430,  458,  470. 

John  A.,  15,  121,   155. 
Blackmer,    John,    267,    268,    294, 

299,   306,   312. 
Elaine,    James    G.,    15,    289,    355, 

359,    363,    368,    369,    381,    405, 

407,  425,  477,  478. 
Blair,  Austin,  211. 

Frank  P.,   14,  96,   105. 

Henry  W.,  309,  330,  338,  371, 
373,  391,  412,  415,  430,  448, 
463,  468,  475,  514. 

Montgomery,    14,    208. 
Blaisdell,   Daniel,  58. 
Blake,   Samuel,   35. 
Blodgett,  Isaac  N.,  322,  426,  529. 
Bouton,  Nathaniel,  41. 
Boutwell,  George  S.,   159. 
Bowers,   Shepard  L.,   170. 
Brackett,  James  S.,  68. 

John    M.,   244. 
Brewer,   F.  B.,   363. 
Brewster,  Augustus  O.,  154,   208, 

336. 
Briggs,    James    F.,    71,    197,    216, 

322,    360,    364,    371,    372,    373, 

393,    415,    416,    459,    460,    461, 

462,  464,  468,  470,  473,  479. 
Bristow,  Benjamin  F.,   369. 
Brown,   Alson   L.,  420. 

B.  Gratz,  242. 

Frank  P.,  358. 

Horace  A.,  358. 

L.   D.,   59. 

Warren,  477,  496. 

Warren  G.,  394,  395. 
Bryant,   Napoleon  B.,  70,  78,  94. 
Buchanan,   James,  62,  65. 
Bunker,    James,   26. 
Burbank,    Barker,    08. 
Burke,  Edmund,  47,  48,  200,  227. 


Burleigh,  M.   C.,   67. 
Burlingame,  Anson  S.,  14,   105. 
Burnham,   Henry  E.,   322. 
Burns,  Charles  H.,  359,  371,  392. 

William,  94,  108,  146. 
Burr,  C.  C.,   173,  208. 
Burrows,    Joseph,    322. 

Julius    C.,    15,    337,    356. 
Busiel,  Charles  A.,   373,  374. 

John   T.,   373,460. 

Lewis  F.,  373. 
Busteed,    Richard,    168. 
Butler,    Benjamin   F.,   15. 

Matthew  C.,  411. 
Butterfleld,      William,      76,      227, 

354,  529. 


Caldwell,    John   C.,   212. 
Cameron,      James      Donald,     405, 
407,  438. 
Simon,  103. 
Campbell,     Charles     H.,     68,     93, 

459. 
Carpenter,  Alonzo  P.,  42. 

Matthew     H.,     389,     391,     404, 

405,   407,   425. 
Carr,   Clarence  E.,   374. 
Hannah,  28. 
Moses,  28. 

Carrigan,   Philip,   41. 
Carroll,   Lysander  H.,   234. 
Carter,   Solon  A.,   533. 
Gate,  Asa  P.,  76,  94,  99,  100. 
Chadbourne,  Abigail,   27. 

Jonathan,    27. 
Chamberlain,    Joseph,   68. 

Levi,  58,  109. 
Chandler,  George  B.,  447. 

William  E.,  18,  59,  60,  62,  68, 
69,  74,  75,  77,  82,  103,  153, 
154,  164,  165,  166,  169,  171, 
172,  181,  184,  185,  191,  199, 
200,  207,  209,  210,  215,  218, 
220,  221,  222,  223,  227,  228, 
240,  246,  247,  248,  273,  282, 
290,  307,  308,  310,  316,  323, 
346,  369,  390,  391,  415,  420, 


INDEX 


537 


423,  430,  438,  439,  458,  468, 
520,  521. 

Zachariah,   14,    290. 
Chase,  A.   H.,   168. 

Amos  C.,  421. 

Aurin,  68. 

Salmon    P.,    14,    102,    104,    105, 

167. 
Cheney,  Elias  H.,  464. 

James  S.,  100. 

Person  C.,   260,   261,   319,   328, 
329,  334,  339,   354,  355,  357. 

Thomas  P.,  216,  239. 
Chesley,  Lafayette,  394. 
Christie,   Daniel  -M.,   46,   47. 
Churchill,  Frank  C.,  525. 
Clark,  Daniel,  46,  47,   48,  58,  71, 

82,  141,   193,   194,  241,   507. 

Joseph  B.,  477. 

Lewis    W.,     71,     78,     183,    184, 
192,   206,  383,  384,   426,  519, 
526,   527,    528. 
Clarke,   John  B.,  169,   170,  306. 

Samuel   G.,   132. 

William    C.,    132,    154. 
Clay,  Ithiel  E.,  311.  420,  459. 
Clement,  Amos  C.,  67. 
Cleveland,  E.   S.,  208. 

Grover,     291,     292,     326,     327, 

429,  447. 

Clifford,   Thomas  F.,  526. 
Clough,  Joseph  H.,  421. 
Cobb,  Howell,  50. 
Coburn,   John,   332. 
Cochrane,   George  E.,   373,  420. 

John,  211. 

Cocke,   William,  399,  401. 
Cogswell,  Leander  W.,  317. 
Colby,   Anthony,   77,   84,   90,    130, 

172,  521. 

Enoch  L.,  170. 

Ethan,  85. 

Ira,   359,  420,  459. 
Cole,  Benjamin  J.,   170,  177,  244, 

303,   327. 
Colfax,    Schuyler,    121,    158,    162, 

188,  216. 
Collins,  Patrick  A.,  15,  208. 


Colony,   Horatio,   326,   385. 
Comings,  Albert  G.,   250. 

Alvah,   68. 

Condit,  John,  399,  402. 
Cone,  Julius,  498,  499. 
Conkling,  Roscoe,  121,  122,  289, 

381,   405,   407,   425,   436,   437. 
Conn,  Granville  P.,  41. 
Cooledge,  Cornelius,  421. 
Cooper,     Lemuel     E.,     245,     250, 

267,   268,    294. 
Corning,   Charles   R.,   459. 
Covode,    John,    15,   212. 
Cox,  Alfred  A.,  421. 

Samuel  S.,  121. 
Cragin,  Aaron  H.,  44,   83,  88,  90, 

93,     103,     130,     141,     166,     171, 

172,    194,    212,    232,    237,    238, 

239,    240,    241,    244,    271,    352, 

359,  360,   364,   414,   463. 
Cranfield,  Edward,  26. 
Cresswell,  John  A.  J.,   211. 
Cross,    David,    51,    81,    93,    109, 

111,    114,    170,    178,    179,    180, 

181,  358. 

Culver,    E.    D.,    105. 
Cummings,   George  W.,   421,  458. 

Greenleaf,   58,   68,   84. 

Horace    S.,    357,   358. 

William   H.,   460. 
Currier,  Frank  D.,  231,  449,  450, 

458,   477,   523,   524,   525. 

Moody,   444,   445,   475. 
Curtin,  Andrew  G.,  14,  105. 
Curtis,  George  William,  369. 

Grovenor    A.,    421. 
Cutts,  Charles,  400,  402. 

Dana,    Sylvester,    18,    59,    60,    61, 

68,  69,  520. 

Danforth,  Charles  P.,  68. 
Daniell,     Warren     F.,     322,     329, 

336,  385. 
Davis,  David,  379,  405,  407,  425, 

432,  437,   448. 

Jefferson,   128,    151,    168,   451. 
Dawes,    Henry    L.,    15,    121,    122, 

233,   236,  237,  308,   309,   380. 


538 


INDEX 


Dean,  Henry  Clay,  208. 
Deering,  Arthur,  340,  341,  346. 
Devereau,  G.  H.,  173. 
Dewey,   George,   500,   501. 
Dickerman,   M.   W.,   358. 
Dickey,  A.  M.,  173. 
Dillingham,  Paul,  168. 
Doane,  William  C.,   168,  184. 
Doe,  Charles,  212,   328,   343,  344, 

345,   346,  362,  415,  426,  496. 
Dole,  Charles  A.,  420,  431. 
Donnelly,   Ignatius,   212. 
Doolittle,   James  R.,   14,  208. 
Douglas,    Stephen   A.,    14. 
Douglass,  Frederick,  15,  337. 
Drake,  Benjamin  F.,   459. 
Drew,    Irving   W.,    458. 
Drown,  Albert  H.,  59. 
Duncan,    William    H.,    167. 
Dunnell,   Mark   H.,   168. 
Durkee,    Ruel,    44,    68,    247,    271, 

319. 

Eastman,    Albert    L.,    420. 

Edwin   G.,  358. 

Ira     A.,     108,     146,     156,     167, 
174,    176,   219. 

Joel,  46,  47,  93,  103,  109,  149. 

Samuel  C.,  42,   459. 
Eaton,    Hosea,   68. 

William  W.,   15,   167,  405,  408, 

425. 
Edgerly,   James  A.,   459. 

Martin    V.    B.,    446,    453,    454, 

455,  456. 

Edmunds,   George   F.,   429. 
Edwards,   Supply  W.,   140. 

Thomas  M.,  46,  47,  48,   71,  73, 

90,  93,  122,  149,  171,  172. 
Ela,   Jacob   H.,   70,   71,    177,   198, 

218. 
Emery,    James    W.,    46,    58,    322, 

327,  333. 

Everett,   George  W.,  59,  68. 
Ewing,  Thomas,  Jr.,  14,  208. 

Fairbanks,  George  H.,  421. 
Farr,  Evarts  W.,  393,  416,  447. 


Faulkner,    Charles   S.,    215. 

F.  A.,  68. 

Fenton,   Reuben  E.,   121. 
Fessenden,  William  P.,  103. 
Field,  A.   P.,  174. 
Fitch,  Thomas,   237. 
Fitzgerald,   John   E.,   208. 
Flanders,  B.  F.,  155. 
Fletcher,    Josiah  M.,   456. 
Flint,   Samuel,  226,  235,  236. 
Fogg,   Andrew   J.,    226. 
Fogg,   George   G.,  41,   57,   58,    79, 

91,   94,   99,   102,   104,   105,   114, 

191,    216,    218,    220,    222,    227, 

230,    232,    234,    238,    243,    248, 

249,    259,    260,    261,    265,    269, 

316,   317,    318,    507. 
Folsom,   George   P.,   58. 
Foss,   John,  294. 
Foster,  David,  195. 

Helen,  517. 

Joshua  L.,  207. 

William  A.,  517. 

William  L.,  42,  426. 
Fowle,  Seth  W.,  35. 
Fowler,   Asa,   42,   274,    522,  523. 
Fremont,  John  C.,  62,   102,  104. 
French,  Henry,  307. 
Frink,  John  S.  H.,  371. 
Frost,  George  S.,  420. 

Margaret,  27. 
Frye,  William  P.,  15,  395. 


Gafney,  Charles  B.,  287,  288. 
Gage,  George  E.,  459. 

John  H.,  58. 
Gale,   Benjamin   F.,   358. 
Gallagher,    James,   167. 
Gallinger,  Jacob  H.,  41,  231,  296, 

370,    449,    452,    453,    454,    524, 

525,  526. 

Gantt,  E.   W.,   167. 
Garfield,   James  A.,   15,  160,  356, 

436,  437,  438,  462. 
Garrison,    William   L.,    133. 
Gault,  Jesse,  359. 
George,   John  H.,   16,  41,  42,   55, 


INDEX 


539 


63,  64,  65,   77,  90,  94,  95,   108, 

117,    118,    130,    131,    146,    147, 

156,    172,    200,    227,    385,    417, 

526. 

Paul  R.,  46,   108,   117. 
Gerrish,  Lucy,  28. 

Benjamin,  Jr.,  251,  266,  522. 
Oilman,  Charles   J.,   105,   155. 

George  W.,   84. 

Virgil  C.,  421. 
Gllmore,  George  C.,  332,  358,421. 

Joseph  A.,   147,    148,    152,    154, 

156,   166,   169,   184,   199. 
Goggin,  John  P.,   531. 
Goodale,   John  H.,  226,  294. 
Goodell,  David  H.,  358. 
Goodwin,  Ichabod,  67,  71,  88,  94, 

99,    109,    147,    500. 

Thomas    J.,    34. 
Gordon,  George  A.,  32,  33. 

John   B.,   15,   336. 

Nathaniel,   241. 
Gorham,   George   G.,   15,   212. 
Gould,  Ezra,  216. 
Gove,   Edward,   26. 

Richard,   421. 

William  H.,  46,  54,  55,  93,  111, 

253,   317,   320. 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  159,  207,  214, 

215,    216,    221,    242,    249,    266. 

267,    269,    270,    272,    285,    286, 

288,    289,    290,    291,    292,    308, 

336,    344,    347,    359,    369,    438, 

505. 
Greeley,    Horace,    239,    277,    282, 

285,    286,    287,    288,    289,    291, 

292. 

Green,    Benjamin,    59. 
Greene,    Herman   W.,   420,   431. 
Griffin,    Simon   G.,    200,    246,   294, 

297. 

Griswold,   Charles  B.,   528. 
Groome,   James  B.,   407. 
Grow,  Galusha  A.,  15,  96,  121. 
Gustine,    Edward,   358,   421. 

Hackett,   Allen   J.,   459. 
William  H.  Y.,  70,  303. 


Hadley,  Amos,  81. 

Haile,    William,    48,    51,    67,    77, 

85,   89,    103,    169,    170. 
Hale,  Eugene,  15,  20,  337,  356. 

John  P.,  49,  71,  79,  82,  88,  89, 
90,  102,  170,  171,  172,  202, 
222,  463,  507. 

Samuel  W.,  444,  445,  446,  448, 

453,   455,    456,   458. 
Hall,  A.   Oakey,   167. 

Daniel,  239,  260,  287,  288,  305, 
306,  307,  308,  312,  317,  331, 
332,  339,  342,  343,  344,  345, 
352,  354,  357,  359,  496,  523. 

Joshua  G.,  322,  393,   416. 

Lafayette,   421. 
Hallett,   B.   F.,   96. 
Ham,  Elizabeth,   27. 

William,    27. 
Hamilton,  A.  J.,  155. 
Hamlin,     Hannibal,     14,     73,     96, 

163,  173,  211. 
Hammond,    Isaac   W.,   41. 
Harriman,    Walter,    77,    99,    147, 

148,    154,    182,    199,    200,    201, 

202,    204,    207,    212,    213,    216, 

217,    237,    274,    304,    317,    319, 

415,  420,  423,  430. 
Harrington,      Edward     W.,      109, 

167,   169,  182,   186,  203,  219. 

John  M.,  167. 
Harris,   Benjamin   G.,   161. 

Milan,    68. 

Milan  W.,   182. 
Harrison,    Benjamin,    110,    436. 

John  C.   S.,  363. 
Hatch,  Albert   R.,   219,    305,   306, 

321. 

John,   373,   420. 

T.   E.,   297. 

Hawley,   Joseph  R.,   15,  211,  441. 
Hayes,    Rutherford   B.,    205,   368, 

372,  375,   381,  382,  384,  393. 
Haynes,   Martin   A.,   446,   447. 
Head,    Natt,    303,    340,    341,    346, 

347,    349,    370,    392,    395,    500, 

501. 
Heard,   William    A.,    294,   317. 


540 


INDEX 


Heath,   Isaac   L.,   420. 
Hendricks,   Thomas    A.,    14. 
Herbert,    Charles   H.,    42. 

Samuel,   46. 

Herring,  George  M.,  67,  103. 
Hibbard,  Ellery  A.,  206,  219,  246, 

295. 

Hiland,  Frank,   373. 
Hill,  Benjamin  H.,  355,  405. 

Howard   F.,  531. 

Isaac,   76. 

Joseph  C.   A.,  358. 

Joshua,   389. 

John  M.,  16,   76,  227,  519,  526. 

527,    528,    529,    530. 
Hilliard,    George   S.,    173. 
Hincks,  E.  W.,  155,  168. 
Hindman,   William,   399,   401. 
Kite,  T.  M.,  211. 
Hoar,  George  F.,  275,  407. 
Hobbs,  Frank  K.,  420. 
Holman,  William  S.,  121. 
Holt,   A.   B.,   59. 
Hosley,    Jewett   B.,    447. 
Howard,  Alfred  F.,  320,  496. 

William  A.,  155. 
Hoyt,  Louis   G.,   525. 
Hubbard,    Nathaniel,    103,    315. 
Hughes,  Aaron  P.,  527. 
Humphrey,   Moses,    59,    358. 

Stillman,   358. 
Hunt,  Nathan  P.,  358. 
Huse,   Henry   H.,  416,  524,   528. 
Hutchins,    Stilson,   446. 

Jackson,    Andrew,    89,    438. 

J.    L.,    59. 

James   R.,    530. 
Jameson,  Nathan  C.,  373. 
Jenks,    George  E.,   371,   416,  523, 

524. 

Jenness,  B.  W.,  108. 
Jewell,   Charles  A.,   373. 

Edwin   P.,   322. 

Marshall,  268. 
Jewett,   Sarah  Orne,   27. 

Stephen  S.,  525. 
Johnson,    Andrew,    73,    189,    190, 


191,    192,    193,    196,   209,   210. 

James  W.,  132,  394. 
Jones,   Charles   W.,  407. 

Frank,  16,  326,  333,  337,  338, 
371,  373,  415,  417. 

John  Paul,   27. 

Jordan,   Chester  B.,  421-422,  446. 
Julian,  George  W.,  121. 

Kaley,   Timothy,   358,   421. 
Kelley,  C.   K.,  67. 

E.   D.,   154. 

William  D.,   121,   154,   174. 
Kellom,   Franklin    P.,    531. 
Kendall,  Asa  S.,  354,  355,  373. 
Kent,    Henry   O.,    16,   85,    86,   97, 

210,    291,    294,    298,    326,    371, 

385,   394,   460. 

J.  Horace,  307,  322,  496. 
Kernan,  Francis,  405,  425. 
Kilburne,    John   C.,   358. 
Kimball,   Benjamin  A.,   479. 

John,  195,  282,  332,  371,  416, 
421,  480,  521,  522,  523,  524, 
525. 

John    S.,   459. 
King,   A.   E.,   356. 
Kittredge,    George   W.,    65. 

Jonathan,  46,  47,  48. 

Ladd,   William   S.,  460,   470. 

Lamar,  Lucius  Q.  C.,  15,  336,  411. 

Lane,   Henry   S.,   123,   125,   126. 
Joseph,  50. 

Lanman,    James,    401,    405,    406. 

Larnard,   Silas  F.,  421. 

Lee,    Robert   E.,   187. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  12,  14,  72,  98, 
100,  103,  104,  116,  121,  132, 
140,  142,  145,  163,  164,  165, 
166,  180,  187,  189,  191,  223, 
505. 

Livermore,  Mary  A.,   267. 

Logan,  John  A.,  121,  122,  389. 

Long,  Alexander,  158,  159,  160, 
161,  162,  163. 

Loring,   George  B.,   184. 

Lovejoy,  Owen,  121. 


INDEX 


541 


Lovell,   Bolivar,   343. 
Levering,  James  W.,  51,  67,   70. 
Lyford,    James   O.,   41,    525. 
Lyman,    John    D.,    149,    177,    322, 
348. 

McCaine,  Daniel,   68. 
McCutchins,     Luther,     303,     305, 

313,    318,    327,    329. 
McDaniel,   John,   34. 
McDonald,    Joseph    E.,    405,    407, 

425. 

McDuffee,    Charles   D.,   447. 
McFarland,  Henry,  239,  278,  279, 

280. 
McKean,     Frank     A.,     329,     371, 

385,    394,    395. 

McKinley,   William  A.,   327,   447. 
McLean,  John,  102,  103. 
McMillan,     Samuel     J.     R.,     405, 

407. 

McPherson,    Edward,    184. 
Madigan,    Thomas   H.,    Jr.,   531. 
Mahone,   William,   432,   433,   437, 

448. 
Mann,  Edward  F.,  373,  421. 

George   W.,   420. 
Marcy,  Daniel,  94,  108,  146,  147, 

156,    158,    183,    322,    354,    355, 

371,    373,    385. 
Marshall,     Anson     S.,     207,     213, 

528. 
Marston,   George,   123. 

George    W.,    359. 

Gilman,  47,  93,  101,  116,  122, 
125,  139,  143,  149,  170,  171, 
172,  176,  177,  185,  186,  189, 
193,  194,  198,  237,  240,  271, 
272,  274,  327,  328,  343,  357, 
371,  413,  415,  420,  429,  430, 
459,  460,  464,  468,  470,  473, 
478,  497. 
Martin,  Benjamin,  103. 

Nathaniel  E.,  530,  531. 
Mason,    Jeremiah,    400. 

Larkin    D.,    67,    303,    314,    316, 
318,    319. 

Samuel  K.,  294,  299. 


Mathewson,    George,    103. 
May,  Amasa,  68. 
Maynard,    Horace,    15,    211. 
Meader,    S.    C.,    358. 

John   E.,   459. 
Means,  Charles  T.,  459. 
Merrill,   Joshua  C.,   340. 

Sherburne  R.,  421. 
Meserve,   Arthur  L.,   446. 
Messer,   Frederic  G.,   68. 
Metcalf,    Henry   H.,    219,    528. 

Ralph,    44. 
Millard,   J.   H.,  363. 
Miner,   Alonzo  A.,   224. 
Minot,   George,   41. 

Josiah,  227,  479,  527. 
Mitchell,   John  M.,   41,  373,   531. 
Montgomery,    Frederick,   168. 
Moore,    Orrin    C.,    217,    218,    264, 

285,    288,    289,    295,    297,    306, 

316,    317,    318,    319,    329,    353, 

356,    357,    360,    361,    364,    371, 

413,    415,    465,    523. 

Joseph    C.,    421. 
Morgan,   Francis   H.,   104. 
Morrill,   John,   327. 

Justin    S.,    121,    122,    380. 

Lot   M.,   15,    155. 
Morrison,    Charles    R.,    192. 

George   W.,    65,   67,    78. 

J.    P.,   67. 

Robert,   108. 

Morse,   Joseph  P.,  67,  84. 
Morton,   Marcus,  13. 

Oliver  P.,  389. 
Moses,   George  H.,  41. 
Motley,    John   Lothrop,   249. 
Mugridge,   John   Y.,   59,   61,   62. 
Mullins,    James,    211. 
Murphy,   Charles  M.,   338. 

Nesmith,    George   W.,    59,    71,   90, 

93,  244. 

Newell,    William   P.,   358. 
Norris,     Herbert     F.,     373,     394, 

447,   529,   530. 

William    T.,    78. 
Northend,   William,   154. 


542 


INDEX 


William   D.,    167,    173. 
Noyes,    Edward    F.,    15,    356. 
Nute,  Alonzo,  359,  497. 

E.,  78. 

Eugene   P.,    459. 
Nutter,    Elizabeth    S.,    531. 
Nye,   James   W.,    15,   77,   82,   211, 

237. 

O'Gorman,   Richard,   15,   208. 

Ogden,    Aaron,    399. 

Oglesby,    Richard,    15,    356. 

Ordway,  Nehemiah  G.,  68,  73, 
74,  75,  84,  103,  105,  118,  153, 
164,  165,  181,  184,  185,  191, 
195,  199,  200,  209,  210,  211, 
212,  218,  220,  221,  222,  223, 
227,  228,  240,  265,  272,  274, 
316,  317,  318,  334,  343,  348, 
358,  371,  521. 

Orr,  James  L.,   50. 

Osgood,    Edward,    195. 
R.   C.,  36. 

Page,  Samuel  B.,  219,  252,  528. 
Parker,  Hosea  W.,  219,  246,  295, 

393. 

John    M.,    421. 

Theodore,    133. 

Walter,   459. 
Parrott,  M.  J.,  96. 
Pattee,  Lemuel  N.,  103,   109. 

Wyman,  217,  358,  522. 
Patten,  William  C.,  71. 
Patterson,  James  W.,  149,  157, 

158,    181,    186,    189,    190,    193, 

194,    264,    265,    269,    270,    271, 

272,    273,    274,    275,    276,    290, 

294,    295,    392,    415,    463,    468, 

469,    470. 

Joab   N.,    41. 
Peabody,     Francis     B.,     50,     519, 

526. 

Pearson,  John  H.,  48,  227. 
Peavey,   George  C.,   67. 
Pecker,    Katharine    Wallace,    see 

Katharine  W.   Rollins. 


Pendleton,   George  H.,   121,   122 
Perkins,    Benjamin   F.,   458. 

Hamilton  E.,  59. 
Perley,   Ira,   42,   86,   131,   172. 
Perrin,  E.  O.,  208. 
Peters,   William  H.,  35. 
Pettingill,  Benjamin,  58. 
Peverly,   James,   59. 
Phelps,   Charles  A.,   105. 

Charles  E.,   208. 
Pierce,  Elbridge,  496. 

Frank  H.,   373. 

Franklin,    41,    47,    48,    49,    89, 

96,   227,   354,   479,   504. 
Pike,   Austin  F.,  58,  68,   86,   103, 

111,    181,    184,    195,    204,    285, 

294,    299,    307,    325,    327,    330, 

331,    369,    371,    473,    474,    514, 

521,  522. 

Chester,  393,   458. 

James,     44,    83,     88,    90,     243, 
244,  245,   250,  261. 

John   G.,   32. 
Pillsbury,   Eben   F.,   208. 

Oliver,  41,  358. 

William   S.,   358. 
Plumer,   Ebenezer,   28. 

Mary,   28. 

William,   28. 
Polk,  James  K.,   47. 
Poore,  Ben  Perley,  441. 
Porter,  Horace,   289,  290. 
Pratt,   Henry  O.,   356. 
Pray,  Thomas  M.,  459. 
Prentiss,  John  J.,  46,  51,  52,  53, 

54,   68,   90. 
Prescott,    Benjamin    F.,    82,    130, 

191,    265,    295,    303,    306,    319, 

327,    332,    369,    370,    373,    383, 

384,    385,    397,    415,    447,    520, 

521,  522,  523. 

William  H.,  499,  500. 
Pressey,  Carlos  G.,  295,  523. 
Priest,   James,   340,  341,  346. 
Proctor,  John,  341,  346. 
Putnam,     George     F.,     297,     307, 

326,   336,   417,   528,   529. 

William,   496. 


INDEX 


543 


Putney,  Henry  M.,  296,  307,  430, 
461,    462. 

Quimby,   Elihu  T.,  420,  431. 
Quint,   Alonzo   H.,   420,   431,   446, 
459,   464,  496. 

Rand,  C.  W.,  281. 

Edward  D.,   132. 

Thomas   C.,   359. 
Rawlins,  see  Rollins. 
Ray,  John  C.,  420. 

Ossian,  359,  393,  416,  446,  468. 
Reed,  Thomas  B.,  459,  509. 
Riddleberger,    Harrison    H.,    433, 

435. 

Rice,   Benjamin   F.,   389. 
Richards,    Dexter,    303. 
Richardson,  William  A.,   154. 
Rixford,  William  H.,   73. 
Roberts,     Charles     H.,     153,    231, 

306,  522,  523. 

Hiram    R.,    192,    206,    304,   305, 

308,   325,   329,   339,   354. 
Robertson,  William  H.,  436,  437. 
Robinson,  Barbara,  517. 

Cyrus,   59. 

Ethel   Rollins,   517. 

Helen  M.,  37,  517. 

Helen  Natalie,  517. 

Henry,  420,  423,  431,  458,  517. 

Joseph,  519,  527. 

Marjorie  Sawyer,  517. 

Rollins,  517. 

Rupert  West,  517. 

Ruth  Cora,  517. 

Roles,   Joseph  Q.,  322,  420,  460. 
Rollins,   Abigail   Wentworth,    27. 

Ashton,  517. 

Charles,   35. 

Charles  Montgomery,  37,  517. 

Clara  Sherwood,  517. 

Daniel,    28,   496. 

Douglas,  517. 

Edward  Ashton,   120.   198,   496. 
Rolliifc,  Edward  H.,  political  con 
ditions  in  New   Hampshire,  11- 

16  ;  ancestry,  22-27  ;  birth,  28  ; 


education,  32-33 ;  early  busi 
ness  life,  34-36  ;  marriage,  37  ; 
children,  37  ;  entrance  into  pol 
itics,  38  ;  opponent  of  slavery, 
40  ;  Knownothing  party,  43, 
44  ;  candidate  for  State  legisla 
ture,  43 ;  election,  46 ;  cam 
paign  of  1856,  49  ;  election  and 
candidacy  for  Speaker,  50-56 ; 
organization  of  Fremont  Club, 
58-60  ;  chairman  State  commit 
tee,  61  ;  campaign  speeches,  62  ; 
Republican  party  organized,  66- 
69 ;  campaign  of  1857,  chair 
man  State  committee,  69 ;  re- 
nominated  for  Speaker,  70 ; 
political  alliance  with  Chandler 
and  Ordway,  74,  75 ;  cam 
paign  of  1858,  chairman  of 
State  committee,  76-79 ;  first 
visit  to  Washington,  79  ;  can 
didate  for  Congress,  90-93  ;  let 
ters  to  Coos  Republican,  97-99  ; 
campaign  of  1860,  chairman 
State  committee,  99-102  ;  cham 
pion  of  Lincoln's  nomination, 
103  ;  delegate  to  National  con 
vention,  103 ;  campaign  of 
1861,  109 ;  candidate  for  Con 
gress,  109  ;  nomination,  111  ; 
comments  of  State  newspapers, 
111-115;  style  of  speaking, 
118 ;  member  thirty-seventh 
Congress,  121  ;  committee  as 
signments,  122  ;  visit  to  battle 
field  of  Bull  Run,  123,  124-127; 
retires  from  chairmanship  of 
State  committee,  129  ;  hostility 
to  slavery,  133 ;  first  speeches 
in  Congress,  133-138 ;  com 
ments  on  same,  138,  139  ;  apti 
tude  for  details  of  legislation, 
139 ;  interest  in  constituents, 
140-143  ;  renomination  for  Con 
gress,  150 ;  election  to  thirty- 
eighth  Congress,  157  ;  commit 
tee  assignments,  158;  Speaker 
pro  tern.,  160-163 ;  candidate 


544 


INDEX 


for  Senate,  171  ;  withdrawal  of 
name,  172 ;  third  nomination 
to  Congress,  180 ;  funeral  of 
Lincoln,  187 ;  Lincoln's  last 
official  signature,  188 ;  member 
thirty  -  ninth  Congress,  189  ; 
committee  assignments,  189 ; 
interest  in  District  of  Colum 
bia,  190  ;  candidate  for  Senate, 
193 ;  speech  at  Congressional 
convention,  1866,  196  ;  returns 
to  chairmanship  State  commit 
tee,  campaign  of  1868,  207 ; 
remarkable  campaign  work, 
209-215  ;  elected  assistant  treas 
urer  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
217 ;  elected  to  chairmanship 
of  State  committee,  1870,  228  ; 
hostility  of  party  leaders  and 
rivals,  228-232 ;  candidate  for 
Senate,  237-241  ;  campaign  of 
1871,  242  -  249  ;  reorganizes 
party,  jealousy  and  attack  of 
party  leaders,  255-269 ;  candi 
date  for  Senate,  270-274 ;  con 
nection  with  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  278-280 ;  resignation 
as  chairman  State  committee, 
285  ;  continued  interest  in  poli 
tics,  286-290  ;  investigation  of 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  292- 
293  ;  appealed  to  by  candidates 
for  office,  300-302  ;  correspond 
ence  with  Larkin  D.  Mason, 
315-320  ;  defeat  of  Republican 
party,  303-314  ;  returns  to 
State  campaign  work,  1875, 
331  ;  restores  party  to  suprem 
acy  in  State,  332-357 ;  candi 
date  for  United  States  Senate 
and  nomination,  358-364  ;  com 
ments  of  press,  366-368  ;  mem 
ber  forty-fifth  Congress,  com 
mittee  assignments,  375  ;  serv 
ice  for  banks,  376-381  :  member 
forty-sixth  Congress,  397 ;  de 
bate  on  Bell's  admission  to 
Senate,  398-409  ;  speeches  in 


Senate,  410,  411  ;  attempt  to 
settle  Senatorial  succession, 
417-431  ;  member  forty-seventh 
Congress,  432-443 ;  tribute  of 
Ben  Perley  Poore,  441-442 ; 
last  campaign,  450-456 ;  can 
didate  for  reelection,  457  ;  hos 
tility  of  rivals  and  bolt  of  cau 
cus,  458-470 ;  withdrawal  of 
name,  471  ;  social  life  in  Wash 
ington,  476 ;  delegate  to  na 
tional  convention,  477  ;  retire 
ment  from  politics,  business 
interests,  479,  480 ;  social  in 
terests,  482  ;  illness  and  death, 
482,  483;  tribute,  483;  family 
life  and  personal  traits,  488- 
503  ;  summary  of  life,  504-515  ; 
descendants,  517 ;  chairman 
State  committee,  520-522. 
Edward  H.,  Mrs.,  37,  476,  489, 

491,  493. 

Edward  Warren,  37,  188,  517. 
Elizabeth,  26,  27. 
Elizabeth   W.,    28. 
Ellen  Elizabeth  West,  see  Mrs. 

Edward  H.    Rollins. 
Ellen  West,  517. 
Frank    West,    31,    37,    41,    480, 

489,   517. 
Frank    M.,    530. 
Grace  Webster  Seavey,  517. 
Hannah,    24,   26. 
Hannah   Carr,    28. 
Helen  Mary,  see  Helen  M.  Rob 
inson. 

Ichabod,  25,  26,  27. 
James,  22,  23,   24,   25,   28. 
James   G.,   28. 
James  Wingate,   33. 
Jeremiah,   26,  27. 
Jessie  Witter,  517. 
John  F.,   22,  28,  36. 
Katharine  Wallace  Pecker,  517. 
Lucy    G.,   28. 
Margaret   Frost,    27. 
Mary  Plumer,   28. 
Montgomery,  37,  488,  490,  517. 


INDEX 


545 


Samuel  W.,  85. 

Sarah  Webster,  517. 

Sherwood,  517. 

Thomas,  26. 

William  A.,  28. 

William  W.,   36. 
Ross,  Lewis  W.,  208. 

Richard  N.,   67. 
Rotch,  Albert  A.,  420. 
Russell,  C.  T.,  173. 

Thomas,  78. 

William  A.,  494. 

Sanborn,    Charles    P.,    342,    343, 

347,   358,   364. 

Edward  B.   S.,  322,  420,  460. 

John  W.,   16,  348,  349,  417. 

Peter,   59. 
Sargent,  Aaron  A.,  122. 

Jonathan  E.,  390. 
Sawyer,     Charles     H.,     358,     477, 

496. 

Frederick   A.,   237. 

Luther    D.,    67. 

Thomas  E.,   170,  177,  186. 
Schurz,    Carl,    242. 
Scott,   Charles,   358. 

Winfield,   38,   123. 
Seavey,  Grace  Webster,  see  Grace 

Webster   Seavey   Rollins. 

J.  F.,  421,   422,  458,  496. 
Sevier,     Ambrose     H.,     401,    402, 

403. 

Seward,   William   H.,    102,   104. 
Shaw,   Albert   M.,  420. 
Shepard,   Alexander   R.,   272. 
Sherwood,  Clara,  see   Clara  Sher 
wood  Rollins. 
Shirley,  John  M.,  78. 
Sickles,  Daniel  E.,  15,   211,  267. 
Sinclair,    John    G.,    16,    46,    192, 

193,    200,    201,    202,    203,    204, 

206,    207,    213,    321,    329,    414, 

528. 

Sise,  William  H.,  459. 
Slack,  Charles  W.,  155. 
Small,  William  B.,  246,  264,  294, 

299,  327,  334. 


Smith,  Alvah,  58,  254. 

Charles    H.,   373,   529. 

Isaac  W.,  383,  384,  426. 

Jeremiah   E.,   459. 

Samuel,  400,  402. 

Waterman,   420. 
Smyth,     Frederick,     68,     70,     99, 

147,    178,    182,    186,    191,    193, 

199,  200,  237,  241,  520. 
Snow,   Edwin,   460. 
Spalding,    Edward,    170. 

John  A.,  525. 

Spaulding,   George  A.,   496,   503. 
Spear,  Henry  A.,  58,  67. 
Spofford,   Richard   S.,   154. 
Stackpole,  P.  A.,  182. 
Stanley,  Clinton  W.,  426. 
Stanton,     Edwin     M.,     140,     142, 

212. 
Stark,  George,  109,  119,  130,  131, 

132. 
Stearns,    Onslow,     41,     147,    169, 

170,    178,    182,    184,    199,    200, 

203,    207,    216,    217,    220,    224, 

226,    227,    236,    242,    270,    273, 

272,    274,    360,    364. 
Steele,  David,   103. 
Stephens,   Thaddeus,   121. 
Stevens,    Aaron    F.,    51,    52,    53, 

59,    70,    71,    93,    109,    111,    116, 

195,    196,    197,    218,    237,    240, 

241,    246,    247,    248,    264,    274, 

294,    325,    357,    360,    364,    413, 

414,    415,    420,    430,    459,    460, 

464,   468,   470,  473,   478. 

George  W.,   71,   78,   132. 

Lyman  D.,   38. 

William   E.,   331,   356,   389. 
Stokes,  William  B.,  211. 
Stone,  Charles   F.,  446,   447,  460, 

530. 
Stowell,     George     H.,     348,     349, 

417. 
Straw,    Ezekiel   A.,    71,    244,    262, 

265,    268,    269,    291,    293,    299, 

303,  334,  335,  359. 
Streeter,   Frank  S.,   41. 
Sullivan,  John,  85,  130. 


546 


INDEX 


Sulloway,     Cyrus     A.,     307,     394, 

395. 

Alvah   W.,    322,    371,    372,    394, 

417. 

Sumner,   Charles,  249,  250,   389. 
Sweetser,  T.  H.,  154. 
Swift,   John   L.,   337. 

Taggart,    David   A.,   459. 
Talpey,  Charles  W.,  421,  497. 
Tappan,    Mason    W.,    44,    46,    47, 

48,   83,   84,   88,   90,   93,   95,   96, 

101,    111,    113,    116,    166,    177, 

215,    216,    237,    239,    240,    241, 

244,    263,    264,    265,    269,    270, 

272,    274,    290,    291,    294,    316, 

317,  318,  343,  415,  468,  470. 
Tarbox,  James  K.,  208,  336. 
Tenney,   S.   W.,  356. 
Tenny,   Allen,   118. 
Thayer,   James   S.,  208. 

William  F.,  525,  526. 

William  M.,  528. 
Thompson,   Ai   B.,   41. 

George,    172. 

John   A.,   208. 

John   H.,   68. 

John  L.,  211. 
Thurman,     Allan     G.,     389,     407, 

429. 
Tibbits,  J.  A.,  363. 

Mary,    26. 

Tilden,    Samuel    J.,    369. 
Todd,    George    E.,    341,    347,    348, 

349. 

William  C.,   459. 
Topliff,  Elijah  M.,  215,  358,  371, 

523,     524. 
Towle,   George   S.,   68. 

George  H.,  421. 
Tracy,  Uriah,  399,  401. 
Treat,   John    S.,   421. 
Truesdale,  Edmund  E.,  420. 
Tuck,   Amos,   58,    61,   66,   67,    71, 

72,    73,    77,    90,    103,    104,    105, 

148,  171,   172,  191,  194,  507. 
Tullock,   Thomas   L.,  46,   67,  520, 

521. 


Tutherly,  William,  525. 
Tuttle,   Hiram  A.,   322. 

Underwood,  John  C.,  96. 
Upham,    Nathaniel    G.,    181. 
Upton,    Samuel,   109,  281. 

Vallandingham,    Clement   L.,    121. 
Van  Wyck,  Charles  H.,  105,  121, 

122,   237. 

Vaughan,   Edward  A.,  216. 
Vaux,  Richard,  208. 
Voorhees,  Daniel  W.,  14,  15,  121, 

122,   208,   267. 

Wade,   Benjamin  F.,   103,   205. 
Wadleigh,  Bainbridge,  46,  48,  59, 
Wells,   Christopher   H.,   420,   459. 

84,    127,    257,    274,     275,    304, 

389,    391,    392,    397,    398,    403, 

405,    407,    412,    413,    415,    424, 

425,  430,   463. 

Elijah,   67. 
Walker,   Horton   D.,   244,   262. 

Timothy,   27. 
Wallace,  Edwin,  459. 

William  A.,  425. 
Wallingford,   Abigail   Chadbourne, 

27. 

George  W.,   27. 

Samuel,   27. 

Watson,  Irving  A.,  533. 
Walton,   C.    W.,   105. 
Warde,  David  A.,   303,  306. 
Warren,  O.  B.,  358. 
Washburn,  Henry  D.,   212. 

Israel,   105,    155. 
Washburne,    Elihu    B.,    121,    161, 

266. 

Wason,  George  A.,  458. 
Waterhouse,   William   E.,  231. 
Watson,  Irving  W.,  420. 
Webster,   Sydney,  96. 
Weed,  William  M.,  46,  58,  67,  86 

358. 
Weeks,  Andrew,  35. 

Joseph  D.,  420. 
Weller,   John   B.,   50. 


INDEX 


547 


Wells,       Christopher       H.,       420, 

459. 

John  S.,  65,  77,  90,  91. 
Wentworth,   Abigail,   27. 

Benjamin,    27. 
West,    Ellen    Elizabeth,    see    Mrs. 

Edward  H.   Rollins. 

John,   37. 

Nancy  M.,  37. 
Westgate,  William  F.,  460. 
Weston,  James  A.,  226,  245,  250, 

261,    262,    267,    268,    293,    299, 

305,    306,    308,    312,    341,    346, 

347,  354,  355,   383. 

William  A.,   267,   268. 
Wheeler,   Benjamin   R.,  458. 

John,   358. 

Paul  J.,  130,  132. 

Samuel      M.,      132,      176,      177, 
198,    246,    274. 

William  A.,   121,    122. 

William  P.,  65. 
Whidden,   Benjamin   F.,    359. 
White,   Daniel    M.,    531. 

John  H.,  58. 

Nathaniel,   318,    330,    331,   339, 
359. 


Whitehouse,      Charles      S.,      330, 

337,    338,    360,    364,    459,    464, 

497. 

Whittemore,    Jacob   B.,   460. 
Williams,  John,  400,  401. 

William,    212. 
Wilson,  Henry,  14,  103,  105,  132, 

211,    267,    285. 

James  F.,  267,   363. 
Windom,    William,    122. 
Witter,    Jessie,   see   Jessie   Witter 

Rollins. 
Wood,    James    A.,    231,    306,    307, 

332. 
Woodbury,     Charles     Levi,      154, 

208. 

John  F.,  456. 

Levi,  438. 

Woodman,  Charles  C.,  78,  82,  95. 
Woods,  George  S.,  211. 
Woolson,  Augustus  A.,  358. 
Wright,    Isaac    H.,    96. 
Wyatt,   Oliver,   337. 

Young,   Aaron,   496. 

Andrew  H.,  447,  461,  462,  496. 
Jacob,  497. 


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